Small Changes
by Digitize27
Summary: Really, how much can small things affect the world? Little things like the colour of someone's hair? Their Mentor? Maybe... their date of birth?
1. New beginnings

I don't own Naruto... sigh

* * *

"Kaa-san!" Kushina looked up quizzically from the dishes she was cleaning, looking around her for the source of the call. "Kaa-san!" She looked around again, only this time a young boy slid into the kitchen, his bare feet slapping pointedly against the tiled floor. The tall red-haired woman chuckled at her son's antics before putting down the bowl she had been wiping.

"What is it Naruto-chan?" The small boy beamed up at his mother, his foxy smile practically glowing. Kushina smile warmly at her son, bending down with some difficulty to gently stroke his whiskered cheeks.

"Tou-san is hiding again!" Kushina chuckled more loudly this time as she struggled to stand up straight again, using the counter to pull herself up. Naruto just stared strangely at his mother, walking up to her and placing his small hands on her large round belly. "Kaa-san, when is my imouto going to be finished cooking?" Kushina just laughed again, somewhat regretting letting Minato explain to Naruto why she had been slowly getting larger in the past months.

"A few more weeks Naruto" The redhead just laughed, already anticipating the fun he would have with his sibling.

"How does she fit in there if Kaa-san already has a fox in her tummy?" Kushina sighed, another thing she regretted Naruto being told about.

"You know we'll tell you when you're older, now come on, if Tou-san is hiding what do we do?" Naruto groaned, her lack of explanation annoying him, but quickly covered it up behind a beaming smile, letting his brow crinkle cutely in thought.

"We find him! But Tou-san's using the Hiraishin, I think that's cheating!" Kushina just raised an eyebrow as she looked around, using her senses to try and locate her wayward husband.

"Really? Well I think you're right Naruto-chan; that is cheating." Naruto just giggled as he knew what was coming next; Kushina quickly raised her arm and smiled down at her son, "And cheaters need to be caught." Suddenly a large golden chain shot out of the woman's palm, darting through the various rooms of the small two-story house the family lived in. It snaked about, coiling around the rooms until it sneaked up behind an unsuspecting blonde man in one of the upper rooms.

Before Minato knew what was going on, he suddenly found himself completely ensnared by the same large glowing chain, completely immobilised as it carried him through the house. He came to a floating rest in front of his laughing son and amused wife. He tried to keep a stern face, but he couldn't stop his own smirk from breaking through.

"Now Naruto, I didn't think you would bring your mother into this, it was supposed to be a fair game." The six year old just shook his head furiously in that way only young children could.

"Nuh uh! When I go to the academy I'm going to be a Shinobi and a Shinobi has to use every advantage to win!" Minato just chuckled as his wife finally released him from her special chains, rubbing his wrists where they had been secured just a little too tightly.

"Well at least you're right about that." He bent down and tussled his son's spiky red hair, the perfect mix between his own and Kushina's, annoying him appropriately. "But what's even more important than that?"Naruto once again entered his adorable thinking pose that had literally had women drop their groceries so they could cry out 'kawaii!'

"Teamwork and always sticking by your comrades!" Minato just nodded with that same warm smile on his face as he patted his son's hair again, much to the boy's chagrin.

"Right." He stood up again, giving a soft kiss to his wife as his son turned away in embarrassment of the loving action.

"Aww Tou-san, Kaa-san, why do you have to do that around me!" Both parents just laughed as they stared at their son with bemusement. Kushina especially stared at the young boy critically, so like she had been when she was that age, yet in every other aspect he was his father's son. She was just happy he had inherited the Uzumaki hair or people would never believe he was her son.

"Now Naruto-chan, one day you'll find a girl you like and you'll be doing the exact same things with her." She bent down again, this time helped by her husband as she wrapped up her son in a hug "Then you can have your own family." Naruto just nodded warily, his mother was always stressing the importance of family.

"Yeah, I just wish you didn't have to do all the yucky stuff in between." Minato laughed at that as he helped Kushina up onto her feet again, enjoying his son's naivety and innocence.

"Aww but Naruto, that's the best part." To prove the point he quickly captured Kushina's lips in another searing kiss, once again to Naruto's embarrassment and annoyance. He blushed and ran out of the room, yelling annoyances and various amusing things that only made the two adults chuckle. Minato turned back to his wife, or more specifically the lump now very prominently emerging from her shirt. "And how are my girls today?" Kushina just sighed as she leant back on the counter, cupping her hands under her cumbersome bump.

"Very tired, although little Sukoru seems as restless as ever, I swear she's going to be worse than Naruto." Minato nearly blanched at that but recovered well, it wouldn't do for a Hokage to panic over a little thing like childbirth, again.

"Just a few more weeks Kushi-chan." The woman just sighed and nodded as she returned to wiping up the bowl she had been working on. At least this time she knew what to expect as opposed to during Naruto's birth when she had practically assaulted her friend Mikoto for answers.

"Right, right, Mina-kun, then we get to watch Naruto in his first days at the academy." The blonde smiled as he began walking out of the room. "Hey, where are you going?" Minato just chuckled as he went searching for his elusive son.

"I'm going to go and train Naruto some more, it won't do for a Namikaze or an Uzumaki to be left behind in the academy!" Kushina just smiled sweetly as she turned back around; she winced as she felt the baby kick again and rubbed her swollen stomach soothingly.

"Just a few more weeks Sukoru, just a few more weeks."

* * *

Eighteen days later

* * *

Naruto stood in the middle of a clearing, a blindfold over his eyes as he held a single kunai by its handle. Minato watched him with a smirk as he slowly walked around his son, barely making a whisper with his feet. Six kunai were scattered around the edge of the clearing, each bearing the same three-pronged design and the same sealing formula on the handle.

"Alright Naruto, you have to listen really carefully. Feel for the slightest disturbance, your reflexes will do the rest." The blindfolded boy just nodded as the muscles in his arms tensed in anticipation. He waited until he felt his father leave he clearing, noting how the wind died down completely. He was left with an eerie calm, his ears twitching ever so slightly as he listened out for even the most miniscule changes in the environment; sorting out the animals from the more unnatural sounds.

Finally, Naruto spun on one foot, pivoting at the same moment he flicked out his kunai, letting it sail perfectly straight towards what he'd hoped was his target. He lifted up a corner of his blindfold to look at his father, holding the kunai he had thrown. With wide eyes he stared, realizing it was a few inches from his father's throat. His father coughed as he pulled the blade away, blinking slightly at his son's unerring accuracy; it was on par with an Uchiha.

"That was good Naruto, I think you have 'listening to your environment' down." He looked down at the shining kunai again as he gulped, still a little startled that a kid not even in the academy had gotten so close to a vital spot, it was a good job he was the fastest man alive. He smiled a little, thinking that there was definitely no doubt that Naruto was his son, although he did wish he had inherited his blonde hair; he could only hope for little Sukoru. "Your accuracy is spot on too." Naruto grinned broadly, jumping up and down in a little celebratory jig as his father chuckled.

"But that's no excuse to get complacent, remember to always keep training no matter what the circumstances are. If you aren't at your peak then how are you supposed to protect your comrades..." He knelt down, pulling his son up onto his shoulders, much to the little redhead's delight "...or your family?" Naruto just nodded determinedly, fire in his eyes as he made an internal promise to never stop training and to always protect the people closest to him.

"Minato!" The blonde spun, unintentionally making his son giggle as he was thrown about atop his shoulders. He watched as his wife came staggering out into the garden clutching her stomach as she wheezed.

"Kushi-chan?" Kushina just continued to pant before she groaned suddenly, her knees bending a little as she quickly went through her breathing exercises.

"She's coming Minato!" the man just blinked as he stood there, stock still, his mind shutting down. Thankfully his son quickly knocked him on the head once, shocking him out of his daze as he suddenly flashed across the field so fast Naruto had to hold on or risk getting thrown off.

"O-Okay, we just need to call Biwako right?" Kushina just nodded quickly between laboured breaths as Minato hurriedly looked around, carefully setting Naruto down on the ground before disappearing into thin air.

He returned a few moments later holding a flustered and slightly irritated Biwako; the woman took one look at the situation before gently placing a hand on Kushina's shoulder. Instantly the woman relaxed as calming chakra began to flow through her system, allowing her to fall limply into Minato's arms with a lazy smile on her face. The blonde quickly began to carry his wife off, an enormous smile on his face before a small voice interrupted him.

"Uhh Tou-san, what's going on?" Minato froze and quickly rushed back to his son's side, making sure not to disturb Kushina too much.

"Don't worry about it Naruto, everything's fine, just wait in the house." Naruto just nodded uncertainly as he looked between his smiling father and his now blissfully drugged mother. "Just think of this Naruto, by the time I come back tonight..." he looked down at the large bump under his wife's clothing "...you're going to have a little sister." Naruto smiled brightly at that, forgetting all the confusing things that had happened so far. Minato stood up, but not before tussling his son's hair, quickly making his way through the house as Naruto followed.

The little redhead watched from a window as his father carried his mother away towards the safe house where she could give birth. For a moment he was confused that they weren't going to the hospital but he didn't really understand all that much about where babies came from anyway so he just shrugged. He looked around while grinning deviously... he had the house to himself for a few hours.

* * *

Naruto was getting a little worried, he had finished training a few hours ago and had taken to just lazing around and raiding the fridge when he could. Now he was sitting by the window, looking out over the village as he waited for his parents to return with his new sister. He was excited as well, he was going to play with her loads and teach her lots of things like Jutsu, as soon as he learnt some of course. He already had the substitution down; it was part of his father's speed training to see how many times he could substitute in a minute.

Now though it was getting late, it was well past his bed time, not that he would ever admit to needing one. However, his eyelids were growing heavy. Yet, he wanted to be awake. He was eagerly awaiting for his new family to return home. Even so, his vision was getting a little cloudy and the couch he was lying on was getting increasingly comfortable. He didn't think it would matter much if he just closed his eyes for a few minutes, he was sure he'd have plenty of time before his parents got back.

* * *

And then it happened. He suddenly jolted up on the couch, his eyes darting back and forth in panic as he listened to the sounds of screaming and destruction. Skin prickling, heart racing, he rushed to the window, only to see a sight that belonged in his childish nightmares. The village was burning. Plumes of fire towered to the sky, dwarfing familiar homes, thick black smoke smothering the thunderous clouds. Buildings lay in ruins, getting worse towards the edge of the village.

And then he saw it. The enormous fox. Its warped form growling madly near the centre of the village, its nine long tails thrashing and snapping out behind it, flattening buildings with single sweeps. For a moment, when time seemed to come to a halt, Naruto could have sworn the enormous creature looked straight into his eyes. The boy stumbled backwards from the window, the Fox continuing to destroy more of the village. Naruto turned from the window even as screams echoed, his hands clamping over his ears. He was alone. Where were his parents? He ran upstairs, his legs burning, his body shaking. He swallowed frightful breaths, wrenching his eyes shut, diving onto his parent's bed as he dug underneath the covers, snuggling tight into the gentle, lingering warmth they left behind.

Suddenly, surreally, his father appeared. Looking around frantically, he called, until he spotted Naruto - a lump in his bed. He quickly ran over, going down on one knee as he looked his son straight in the eyes. Naruto didn't know why he was wearing his Hokage coat.

"Naruto I really need you to be brave right now." The redhead nodded quickly as he stifled a sob, trying to pull himself into a more dignified position as his father gave him a weak but warm smile. "You need to come with me, there's something we have to do." Naruto nodded again, confused but he could never turn down his father before, on anything. Minato smiled again as he pulled his son into his arms, lifting him up off the bed.

"Tou-san, where's Kaa-san and Imouto?" Minato didn't say anything but if Naruto had seen his face he would have noted the single tear that rolled down the usually unflappable Hokage's face. Both disappeared in an instant, reappearing only moments later to the louder screams of terrified civilians. The acrid stench of destruction and burning was full in Naruto's nostrils and it made his eyes water. His father set him down on the roof they had arrived on. He looked around until his eyes landed on the fox; it was looking straight at him, its massive jaws pulled back in a snarl as it continued to swipe at the Shinobi attempting to stop it.

He was about to scrabble backwards, away from the unbelievable aura of oppression and darkness the beast gave off. His father's words suddenly came back to him, he needed to be strong; he stood in trembling feet, watching as his father summoned Gamabunta down on the fox's head. Naruto was suddenly swept off his feet again as his father picked him up, all of them vanishing once again until he fell to the floor. He looked around again, immediately spotting the shock of red hair that could only belong to one other person.

"Kaa-san!" Kushina swept up her son into a hug even as a large altar poofed into existence behind them, summoned by Minato. The nine-tails was thrashing around violently, wondering where it had been taken now in its red-haze of vision.

"Naruto, I love you, please be strong." Naruto sobbed again, not understanding what was happening, it was all going too fast for him.

"Kaa-san, I don't unders-" They both looked up as the enormous demon crashed its hand down on the ground, upsetting the earth and creating a massive cloud of dust. All he saw was his father standing there, his shirt blown open as he just stared at the enormous fox, bound by the chains erupting from his mother's back. He found himself being laid back in the altar, staring up into his mother's perfect purples eyes. He saw the tears, they were swollen and red but they looked down at him comfortingly.

"It's going to be okay Naruto-chan; everything's going to be okay." Naruto just nodded, his mind not working right as he tried to take comfort in his mother's eyes. Suddenly he felt a blinding pain like his insides were being set on fire. He screamed out but his mother just held him tighter, pulling him into her chest as fresh tears spilled down her own cheeks. Naruto was breathing heavily, his breaths coming out in rasps as the pain continued to flow through his body, not even noticing the seal that began to write itself on his stomach.

He opened his eyes, only to freeze in shock as he saw his mother standing over him, holding back the enormous claw of the beast. She gulped, tears streaming down her cheeks as she took one last look at her son.

"Naruto I, I lo-" She fell limp a moment later, her body falling to the ground in a growing pool of her own blood. Naruto could do nothing but stare in shock, frozen by fear and disbelief as he watched his mother's body draw its last breath, still looking into his eyes as they locked together one last time. He didn't even notice as the great beast dissolved in front of him, the energy rushing into his body that was already numbed.

Seconds, or maybe hours trickled by as he just lay there, staring at his mother's body until a warm hand found its way onto his shoulder. He turned, almost mechanically to look up at the pain-stricken face of his father, although he hid it well. Naruto looked down at the strange spiral seal on his father's stomach, not knowing an identical one now rested on his own.

"T-Tou-san?" Minato just smiled weakly at his son, already feeling his life slipping away and finding the words hard to speak.

"Know that we're proud of you Naruto, we always will be. I wasn't fast enough..." he coughed into his hand as he slumped down onto his knees, his body growing weaker "...you have to be faster for me, okay Naruto?" Naruto just nodded his head in a stupor, a part of him not really believing that any of this was really happening. Minato's last action on this earth was to take of his coat and slowly wrap his son in it before his body slumped to the ground, lifeless.

That was the scene Hiruzen finally emerged at, seeing the dead Hokage and his wife surrounding their shivering son who could do nothing but stare at the bodies of his lifeless parents. Hiruzen sighed sadly, knowing beforehand that this was a possibility as he made his way over to the shivering boy gently. He carefully picked Naruto up, sighing again as the small redhead just fell unconscious in his arms, everything finally catching up to him.

The old Hokage stared down at the legacy of what was supposed to be his successor, a single tear in the corner of his eyes as he looked back at two of his dear friends. He had already lost so much tonight, his wife, his friends but Naruto; he had lost everything. He walked away from the clearing, allowing the ANBU to do their jobs and quickly recover the fourth and Kushina's bodies. The village would require him to be strong right now; Naruto would need him to be strong.

* * *

Rain pounded down on the ground relentlessly but Naruto could barely feel it, his body was completely raw and numb as he stood there, staring down at the simple black memorial stone. The service wasn't long, but it was powerful, everybody had gone by now. He was left alone, staring down at the three names inscribed in the stone, seeing his own face in the polished rock. He wasn't sure how long it was he was standing there before the Hokage finally put his hand down on his shoulder but based on how soaked his clothes were it was at least ten minutes.

"Come now Naruto, you'll catch a cold if you stay out much longer." Naruto didn't reply, he didn't even move, his eyes just kept running across the same three names over and over. Hiruzen just sighed as he kept his hand on the boy's shoulders, knowing what he was going through, it would take time but Naruto would recover, he would grow strong again and strive to make his parents proud.

"You should go home Naruto. The academy starts tomorrow. Your parents would have wanted you to go." Naruto just nodded lamely as he walked off, not even glancing back at the formerly retired Hokage. He trudged off through the pouring rain, his mind and body completely numb to everything around it. Even now his mind was stuck, reeling through those names, the names on that simple black memorial that would haunt his dreams.

* * *

He walked through the streets, skirting around a large crater without really looking. His body was mostly working on instinct today, just going through the motions as he lamely made his way through the village to the academy. He was wearing one of his father's old tracksuits; he didn't know why he had picked it out specifically but it was smooth and smelt of his father. His forever untameable hair spiked out around is head and he ran a hand through it, remembering how his mother always tried to make it fall flat like her own.

His hand fell back down to his side as he crossed the threshold of the Academy, sliding round people like a ghost as he glided towards his classroom. He took a seat at the back, idly noting the faces of some of the other students as he moved past. Some were crying while others were consoling their friends to the best of their abilities; most were shocked but otherwise okay. He noticed a young raven-haired boy take a seat at the back on the other side of the class from him; he too was very quiet and reserved.

He sat down; not really watching as the rest of the class slowly trundled in, no real haste to any of their movements. The Kyuubi attack had hit hard and fast. Nobody had escaped without some damage. Naruto looked down at his own stomach, knowing full well what he now contained within him, the very creature that took away the lives of his parents. He didn't know it but his fingers were clenched hard on the table, his fingernails scoring through the wood with a noticeable shriek. It earned him some strange looks from the rest of the class, not that he particularly cared.

Nobody sat next to him. He didn't know if it was because of who he was, what he contained, or just because of the vibe he was giving off. He was glad for the solitude; it let him think, although that probably wasn't for the best as his thoughts tended to drift towards the darker side nowadays. Finally the last of the students took their seats as the sensei cleared his throat, starting off with a relatively boring lecture about how the attack on the village wouldn't weaken their will of fire or something like that.

Naruto zoned out, only keeping a wary ear out for any useful information. He still hadn't forgotten the promise he had made to his father, the last promise he could ever make to his father. He was going to get stronger, he was going to get faster; he would protect those precious to him. He slumped down on the desk, earning a few more curious looks from his classmates as he closed his eyes. He wasn't sleeping; he was just tuning out everything like his father had taught him, a form of mediation he had learned to augment his Senjutsu training.

He was rudely awoken from his semi-trance though when the door to the classroom burst open. All eyes turned to the door where a young girl of their age now lay on the floor, her momentum having carried her through the door too far. She picked herself up with a sheepish grin, straightening out her clothes which looked very hastily thrown on, obviously in a hurry. Naruto only took a moment to look over her interesting purple hair and dishevelled black shirt that looked way too big for her before slumping back down on the desk.

He didn't realise that the seat next to his was the last available until the girl promptly sat down next to him, giving him a confused look before turning back to face the teacher. Within five minutes the girl was laid back on her chair, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as her eyes rolled back up into her head. Naruto had to look around, out of bemusement if nothing else, to see the overtly exaggerated display of boredom before returning to his comfortable position on his arms.

He was listening to the lecture carefully, filing it all away in his mind if it proved useful but it was becoming increasingly difficult with the girl next to him snoring in a loud and obnoxious manner. He tried to ignore it but he found himself constantly looking up from his desk only to see the girl crack an eye open and smirk at him before returning to her annoying snores. She was hastily brought out of her fake sleep when the teacher threw his eraser clean across the room, slamming the girl right in the forehead. She tumbled back off her chair to painfully smack her head against the back wall, rubbing it painfully as she glared at the teacher.

"What was that for?!" The teacher's eye just twitched violently as he held up the clipboard higher so that she could see it.

"Anko Mitarashi!" She just glared even harder at him.

"Yes sensei" The Chuunin just glared at the girl a little longer, already knowing she would be a pain to teach. He sighed and looked down at the clipboard, his eyes opening a little wider as he read the next name.

"Naruto Namikaze." There were a few murmurs that spread around the room at the name before Naruto stood up, nodding his head to the teacher who nodded back respectfully. Naruto just sat back down, sighing and hoping that all his teachers wouldn't be like that; he wanted to learn, not get pampered. Anko sat back down in her chair, looking around the room at all the kids whispering while rubbing her sore head. She looked at Naruto, noting that he hadn't curled up in his little desk ball like before.

"What's their problem?" Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked at the students Anko was motioning to and sighed.

"It's because of my name." Anko just stared some more, her own eyebrow quirking up at his cold tone as she looked back around.

"So what, means fishcake right?" A visible tick appeared on Naruto's head as he tried unsuccessfully to ignore the girl again.

"No, my surname." He turned to face her with a visibly irritated expression "And it means maelstrom." Anko just chuckled sweetly as she shook her head.

"Whatever you say... Fishcake." Naruto's eye twitched again as he blotted her out completely, returning to staring at his desk and listening solely to the lecture. "So what's up with Namikaze?" Anko turned but found Naruto to be ignoring her, it irked her a little so she in turn turned and ignored him. She tried to think why Namikaze sounded so familiar but it wouldn't come to her, she didn't really talk to kids her own age much so wasn't well informed.

Finally the teacher dismissed them for lunch break and everybody was surprised when a gust of wind seemed to blow through the class. When everybody looked back around Naruto was gone, vanished in a red blur. Anko just blinked as she stared at the seat next to her, amazed by his speed. Another cog in her head refused to click as she tried to match the name Namikaze with unbelievable speed. In the end, she just shrugged and filtered out of the room with the rest of the class, making sure to send a dirty look the teacher's way.

As soon as she was outside she looked around for the elusive and speedy redhead, her eyes narrowing when she couldn't spot him. She hadn't got all that much sleep last night so when she spotted a nice, unoccupied spot of grass she happily flopped down on it, staring up at the birds flying across the bright blue sky. She blinked in amazement when she spotted just the boy she had been looking for, walking straight up the side of the academy towards the roof. Her body turned to stone, staring blankly at the impossible sight, wondering if she had hit her head harder than she had thought before. Was it something she ate?

She picked herself up and rushed back into the building, taking the stairs up three at a time as she raced to the roof. When she finally burst out of the door she saw Naruto sitting with his legs dangling over the edge of the roof, a small bento on his lap as he stared out over the gathered kids. Anko walked up behind him, trying to be stealthy as she carefully placed one foot after the other.

"If you're trying to sneak up on me you aren't doing a very good job." Anko mentally cursed, then paused, asking herself why she cared what he thought.

"Wasn't trying to." Naruto just turned with a disinterested look on his face as he took her in again.

"Then what were you trying to do?"

Anko froze, unsure of what to say; for some reason she didn't want to say she had been looking for him for the sake of it.

"How did you walk up the building?" Naruto glanced at her once before looking back out over the academy grounds.

"With Chakra." He said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world, yet his voice held no arrogance, just a sort of tiredness.

"Could you teach me?" Anko wasn't even sure where that had come from, it was almost on instinct. Naruto seemed to sense her incredulity as he turned again, looking at her with critical eyes.

"Why? I'm sure one of our sensei will teach it to us eventually." Anko just grinned as she walked over, sitting herself down next to the strange redhead she suddenly found so fascinating.

"Yeah, but if I can learn it now then why not learn it now?" Naruto hummed as he looked at her again, it sounded exactly like something his mother might say. It was ever so slightly petulant but playful at the same time... like she already knew she had won the argument.

"I guess. I don't see why not." Anko grinned broadly, a bright smile that managed to ease some of the cold that had settled in Naruto's heart since his parents' deaths. For the first time in a week the edges of Naruto's mouth managed to curl up ever so slightly into a ghost of a smile.


	2. New friends

Naruto almost couldn't believe he was doing this. He was sitting on a tree branch that overlooked a small clearing, silently staring. Anko was tumbling down the tree or blasting herself off it - chips of bark flying as she careened into the dirt below. Naruto remembered his own training to do just this a few months ago with his mother and dropped from the branch into a crouch before standing up and walking over.

"You're still putting too much chakra into it," he droned. Anko just huffed from her position lying on the floor; from here she could look straight up into Naruto's long face. She once again noted that his voice held no condescension or arrogance; he was just stating a fact. It was a little infuriating because it meant she couldn't criticise him, although that didn't stop her from trying.

Her cheeks puffed, "What's your point?" she grumbled. Naruto raised an eyebrow but his eyes showed no amusement at the statement. The purple-haired girl who just couldn't understand him, glared; his stony tone bothering her. Naruto sighed again as he looked between her and the tree. The way his father taught him wasn't going to work here. He offered out a hand and to his surprise, Anko took it, still out of breath from all her previous attempts. He pulled her up, the girl standing with a grunt.

There was a brief pause as Naruto dwelled on his thoughts.

"Lie down next to the tree." He instructed. Anko looked at him questioningly, wondering why he had suddenly changed his method of teaching.

"Finally admitting you were wrong?" she glowered. Naruto just gazed at her emotionlessly, making the girl take half a step back, her open palms rising up in placation.

"No, it's just people learn differently. It's obvious that the way my father taught me isn't going to work for you." Anko's lips came firmly together, slurring into a frown at that. She complied begrudgingly, lying down with her feet against the trunk.

"Now what?"

Naruto just motioned to the tree, staring at her with a slackened expression.

"Now apply an even layer of chakra to the soles of your feet and begin to take small steps upwards. If you feel yourself slipping just adjust your control and try again." Anko nodded as her tongue suddenly emerged from her mouth, Naruto had noticed she did that whenever she was concentrating really hard. It was certainly different to her attitude in class. Anko began to slowly walk up the tree, using her hands to support herself on the ground until she felt confident enough to let go.

She felt her grip loosening and quickly applied more chakra, only to have put too much in forcing her to brace her hands to stay on. In a second though she got the right mix and held it as best she could, a small smile spreading over her features as she hesitantly took her hands off the ground.

"Hey Fishcake, I'm doing it." Naruto twitched at the nickname but stayed quiet all the same, watching her as she slowly took one step, then another. He could see she was visibly straining her core muscles in order to stay horizontal but some additional training and general growth would fix that. "So um, speaking of your dad, don't you have to get back home or something?" Anko blinked when she didn't get a reply; looking around she saw that Naruto had vanished.

"Hey Naru-oof!" She suddenly lost her grip on the tree and fell a good three feet to land squarely on her back with a small gasp. She got up unsteadily with a groan and looked around the clearing; sure enough Naruto had gone. The girl just blinked as she glanced around, now suddenly alone in the training ground. "Something I said?"

* * *

The next day Naruto was one of the first into class again. He sat down in the same spot again and quietly waited for the rest of the students to arrive. This time though he had a small scroll laid out on his desk and every so often he would make a note of something. He continued to get strange looks from his young classmates, at least the ones who bothered to look his way anyway. To anyone else it simply looked like he was doing homework, even though they hadn't been assigned any.

He also noticed he wasn't the only one wrapped up in individual study, the same black-haired pale-faced boy he had noticed yesterday was calmly reading through a scroll at the same desk. Naruto ignored him for now, just like he did everybody else. Except until Anko burst into the room, barely on-time for class. It was hard not to pay attention to her. Somehow, she managed to look even more tired and dishevelled than yesterday.

She was wearing the exact same shirt. He was positive of that. She hadn't actually changed clothes since yesterday, familiar grass stains all over the back of it.

Granted, he was wearing the same tracksuit as before, or at least of the same style, it turned out his father had a lot of them in his wardrobe. He shut his eyes for a moment, going through his parents' room had brought up a lot of memories for him. He had broken down. Crying for all of last night, for the first time since their deaths; the gripping visions vividly haunting his senses. He felt refreshed today though, a lot better than he had before. He supposed he just needed to let out some emotions he didn't even know he had kept bottled up. He opened his eyes only to see Anko sitting next to him again, grinning happily as she stuck her tongue out at him.

"I did it."

Naruto raised an eyebrow while at the same time taking in Anko's appearance again. This close he could in fact confirm she had not changed her clothes since yesterday, she stunk of the forest and damp earth.

"Did what?" Anko just blinked at him before sticking her tongue out childishly, the action was so unbefitting of somebody wanting to become a Shinobi that Naruto nearly smiled at it.

"I walked up the tree," she declared. Naruto just nodded slowly as he turned back to face the slightly flustered teacher that had just entered the class.

"So you'll be eating with me again then?" Anko just nodded with a shit-eating grin that clearly told him she would, it caused him to sigh, yet at the same time... he couldn't fight the tingle in his cheeks. His self-imposed isolationism had already begun to get old and he was warmed, yearning for the company. As strange as Anko was, it wasn't unpleasant to be with her.

"Of course Fishcake-sensei." she murmured with a goading smile. Naruto blinked at that but didn't turn, not allowing Anko to see the hint of a smile that quirked up his lips. The rest of the morning passed slowly. The redhead listened to what the teacher said while occasionally making notes of his own in his scroll. Anko was, well, Anko; she proceeded to piss of their teacher as much as physically possible - starting up cruel a game of 'dodge the eraser'. The rest of the class, save a select few, seemed to find her antics just irritating; teacher included.

One girl on one of the front benches laughed every time Anko would dodge the soft, chalk-stained projectile which earned her a few harsh glares from the teacher at encouraging the purple menace's behaviour. Naruto took a moment to look at her, long brunette hair that flowed down her back like a wave, pale skin and the two red triangular markings on her cheeks that marked her as an Inuzuka. Minato, as Hokage, found it very important that Naruto be knowledgeable about all of the major clans in Konoha, it was important he didn't embarrass himself in a social situation, not that it mattered in the end.

Other than that, the morning passed on without problem. Like clockwork, as soon as they were dismissed, he vanished from the room in a barely-visible blur of red. When Anko chased him outside she saw him scaling the side of the building, almost taking lazy steps to walk up without problem. Tentatively she placed her feet on the wall, remembering everything the redhead had taught her yesterday as she slowly, but eagerly, scooted her way up the academy wall.

A few kids stopped to watch her with amazement but she ignored them, focusing on the chakra flowing to her feet, keeping it even as she made her way up. Finally she was able to walk over the edge of the roof where a quiet Naruto was calmly eating from his bento. She was a little irritated that he didn't even mention the fact she had successfully walked up the wall, like it didn't matter. She sat down next to him in a huff, not even bothering to strike up a conversation as he just continued to eat.

Naruto looked around, wondering why Anko hadn't started pestering him for something yet. He noticed she didn't have any lunch in front of her. Thinking she probably forgot it in her haste, he offered up his opened bento to her. Anko just stared down at the offering for a moment, blinking in surprise at the kind action that had no apparent prompt to her.

"Why?"

Naruto gazed at her with inquisitive purple eyes, he was just doing what he thought was right. His mother had always stressed the importance of equality while his father had always imposed the importance of working together.

"I have food and you don't. It just seems like the right thing to do." Anko stared at him a moment longer before picking up one of the rice balls. She raised it to her lips but paused before she bit in; Naruto just looked at her with the smallest of smirks. "What? It's not poisoned or anything." Anko frowned and bit onto the rice ball, smiling as she enjoyed its home-cooked taste. She finished it quickly, much to Naruto's mutual shock and mild amusement before licking her fingers clean.

"Thanks for that." she mumbled. Naruto just nodded as he returned to his own meal

"No problem." The roof quickly returned to some semblance of silence.

"Why are you being nice to me when all I do is bug you?" Naruto looked around; they had managed to stay quiet for almost five minutes before Anko finally spoke up again.

"What do you mean? Like I said it's just what I think-" Anko looked at him sternly, the look unbecoming, his red brows raising nervously in confusion at her.

"I mean why do you even let me hang out with you? Why bother training me? I'm sure you had family to go home to yesterday, wouldn't they be worried if you stayed out just because of me?" Naruto went very quiet as he turned away from Anko, staring out over at the kids talking and playing or eating lunch down on the ground.

"My parents died in the Kyuubi attack." Anko went quiet as well, her mouth opening and closing rapidly without really knowing what to say.

Her lips fumbled, "I'm sorr-" But Naruto raised a hand, waving off her apology quickly.

"Don't bother, it gets really sickening after a while. Having everybody's pity..." he trailed off, "You didn't know. So don't worry about it." He chuckled, a relatively humourless laugh but it was better than anything else he had managed in the last few days. If he had been looking at himself then he would have been amazed that he could even manage a laugh at this point. "I don't know, having you around just makes it, less lonely I guess." He laughed dryly again as he turned, his hand rubbing the back of his head as he offered the first genuine smile Anko had seen so far, even if it was only small.

"I guess that sounds pretty sad huh?"

Anko quickly shook her head, not wanting to upset Naruto any more than she already might have. He laughed again as he settled back on the roof, looking up at the sky with clearer eyes than he had for a while. He felt a tiny bit of that weight that settled over his chest lighten as he looked up.

"You manage to fill a silence pretty well."

Anko smiled at that, until she got the hidden message and promptly punched Naruto in the arm.

"Ow." He said it fairly flatly, not having actually felt the punch compared to what his mother would dish out when he got especially cheeky. Anko just smiled that sickly-sweet smile she could do, the one that looked innocent enough but was clearly a sign of her growing irritation. Naruto laughed it off, suddenly something he could do with relative ease again. "Thanks for that." Anko turned, looking at the redhead curiously with a cocked brow.

"For punching you?" Naruto nodded with the barest hints of a smile as he returned his gaze to the ground.

"Yeah, people have been treating me like glass ever since Kaa-san and Tou-san died, I'm sick of it. At least you don't tiptoe around everything like I might break or something." He turned, his smile growing ever so slightly.

"It's refreshing."

Anko nodded stiffly, looking down at her hads in thought, maintaing a neutral quirk in her lips, which Naruto didn't seem to mind at all.

"Any time." Naruto chuckled emptily again as he straightened up, feeling a lot better, at least until he caught somebody on the periphery of his senses.

"It's rude to eavesdrop on people you know." Anko just looked around curiously, wondering who Naruto was talking to. It was answered when a tall black-haired boy dropped down behind them, gazing at them almost as dispassionately as Naruto.

"Apologies, I didn't mean to intrude on anything." Naruto turned, noting that it was the same boy he kept noticing in the classroom, probably an Uchiha by his sharp eyes and even sharper hair.

"Hey, it's a free roof." The boy just smirked briefly as he sat down on the opposite side of Naruto to Anko.

"So it is. You're Naruto Namikaze, correct?" Naruto just nodded, continuing to pick at his bento without much enthusiasm. "My mother asked me to look out for you." He reached behind himself and pulled out a spare plastic container with a lunch in, holding it in front of her. "Apparently she and your mother were friends, she asked me to give you this but it appears you already have a lunch." He blinked suddenly as the food disappeared from his hands.

"I'll take that then, thank you." He blinked again, looking around at Anko who now happily began to eat away at the free food before chuckling himself.

"Your friend is quite forward." Naruto smiled across at the black-haired boy.

"Tell me about it." That earned him an elbow in the ribs as Anko continued to happily tuck into the food. The new boy just stuck out his hand which Naruto quickly took, never one to be rude thanks to both his parents' lessons.

"Itachi Uchiha." Naruto smiled and nodded as they shook.

"I thought as much." Itachi just nodded as he began to eat his own food making Naruto curious as to why he wasn't eating with his own friends. He shrugged it off though, as Itachi leant back, this time with his attention on Anko.

"I saw you scale the building, quite impressive. Who taught you how to do that?" Anko grinned cheekily as she wrapped an arm around Naruto's shoulder, an action he didn't mind in the slightest, smirking.

"Fishcake-sensei of course." The nickname on the other hand, he could live without. He blanched. Itachi just smirked amusedly at the pair, chuckling to himself as he ate the rest of his meal quickly.

"I should have expected as much from a Namikaze, or an Uzumaki for that matter." Naruto smirked wide, in a challenging way. The boy raised himself to his feet. Anko on the other hand just seemed confused as she looked between the two.

"Am I missing something, what's so special about the name Namikaze?" Itachi's flat expression morphed into one of disbelief. His brows raised high, wandering thoughts lingering on how she didn't know seem to know the most obvious things; then again the Uchiha had always impressed the importance of knowing everybody who they deemed 'mattered' in the village.

"Well for one they were a founding clan of the village and secondly it was the family name of our late fourth Hokage." Anko quickly spat out the rest of her mouthful over the edge of the building in surprise, unknowingly covering the teacher below them in half-chewed rice.

"You're the Hokage's son?!" She pointed a finger at Naruto as she blinked in shock, Naruto on the other hand just sighed as he gently brushed her almost accusatory hand to one side.

"Was the Hokage's son; he's dead remember?" His tone was a bit icier than usual and Anko noticed, remembering back to when he had talked about people treating him differently. She chuckled sheepishly as she playfully punched him on the arm.

"Yeah well I could still beat you down." Both Naruto and Itachi shared a look in surprise at the sudden turnaround, but Naruto quickly smiled, a small sigh of relief passing through his mind. The three of them stayed up on the roof until their lunch break finally ended, quickly being herded in with the rest of the students.

Naruto took his seat in class. He wasn't too surprised when Anko snagged a seat beside him. He did pause dramatically when Itachi took the other adjacent seat. He blinked in mild surprise, wondering when he started attracting people like a magnet. Class dragged on for another hour until the teacher finally stood up, smiling for once.

"Right! We're going to go out into the training field and have brief spars just to get an idea of where you're all at. That way we know what you need improvement on or we need to focus on more. We'll have sessions like these once a month until your full Taijutsu lessons come into play next year. Of course any students who have personal Taijutsu styles from family or clans - oh and self-taught styles too - are fully welcome to use those times to study or practise." One kid on the second row put up his hand a little angrily.

"Hey, how is that fair that they get special Taijutsu styles and the rest of us just get the Academy taught one?" The teacher raised an eyebrow at this, clearly irritated by the question.

"There is a reason we teach this style of Taijutsu at the academy, it is flexible. Many of the Jounin you will see out in the village use the very style we teach here, tweaked of course to better suit their skills. However if you must know one of the most powerful and highly praised Taijutsu styles to come out of Konoha, the Goken, was created by a student no older than yourself, self taught from scrolls in the library. You are more than welcome to try and replicate the feat if you are so inclined." The student quickly sat back down, now a little embarrassed as evidenced by his red face.

"Alright now if we all will come outside." All the students in the class suddenly braced for the sudden gust of wind they were expecting as Naruto exited the class. However, all looked around in bated breath to see him sitting still with his arms crossed over his chest.

"What?"

Everybody blinked simultaneously, some sharing a laugh. It was an amusing sight when they were all staring at the same boy. Naruto just followed along quietly as the class filed out of the building into the small training ground out the back of the Academy. He sat on the farthest side of the bleachers, barely paying attention as various kids were called up to spar against one another. Most of the time it was pitiful at best; kids that didn't know the difference between throwing a punch and flailing an arm.

Finally he watched with some curiosity as Anko was finally called up to fight against the brown-haired girl he had observed earlier. They took their stances and Naruto noted that Anko's form actually looked half-decent even if the other girls' seemed more honed; most likely due to the fact it had been tested out through countless battles with members of the Inuzuka clan. Anko offered up a cheeky smirk as she leaned back slightly on one foot, putting all her weight backwards. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the strange and risky tactic, wondering what it would accomplish.

He got his answer as Hana shot forward, typical of their style she rushed in without really thinking about the consequences. Her speed was impressive, especially for a fresh academy student, but even so Anko seemed prepared. At what looked like the last possible moment she managed to pivot on her back foot, swinging out of the way of the sloppy frontal assault. She quickly capitalised on her opponent underestimating her as she carried through with her momentum, completing her spin by bringing her elbow down on the Inuzuka's back.

The girl was instantly floored, crumpling up onto the ground with a jolted groan. But she quickly recover, rolling forward. She gracefully curled back up onto her feet with a determined look. Naruto was surprised by the seemingly uncoordinated yet efficient strategy that Anko achieved. Maybe he had been a bit quick when he so easily dismissed her hollow jibe at beating him. It continued in this strange manner for a minute or two, the girl would launch fast, but sloppy frontal attacks on Anko who would counter without ever moving her weighted foot.

Finally, the Inuzuka seemed to twig what her opponent was doing and in a surprising display of tactics, she readjusted her attacks. Suddenly spinning to one side as she ran forward, she launched a leg forward past her crafty opponent, intent on sweeping out Anko's leg with a battlecry. The purple-haired girl just smirked as she used her other leg to swing up, using that momentum to carry through, flipping her body around and delivering a harsh but effective axe-kick to the other girl's face. The Inuzuka went spinning out of the small ring the teachers had set up, dazed, while Anko casually strode out.

The teachers failed to hide their slack-jawed, shifty-eyed gazes at one another. It was damn-near unheard of for a civilian to defeat a clan heir in pure Taijutsu, especially this early on in the academy. Naruto just found himself smiling as Anko strode over; plopping herself down next to him with a look that said 'beat that'. They had to wait another few matches, some more interesting than others, before Itachi's name was called up followed by a civilian trainee.

It was barely worth being called a fight; the boy just rushed the more stoic Uchiha, hoping to get in a lucky hit early on. Itachi simply waited for him to get close, diverted his barely coordinated punch away and delivered a quick but brutal open-palmed strike into the boy's chest. Needless to say the boy was sent flying out of the ring while Itachi walked back over to the stands to sit next to Naruto and Anko. Many of the teachers were a little disappointed, hoping to see a proper Uchiha fight; many now looking out for any decent candidates for Itachi to spar with next time.

A few more fights later and Naruto was finally called up, apparently the last spar of the day. Surprisingly his opponent was another Uchiha, a boy with short and unruly black hair called Shisui. They both entered the ring, settling back into their desired Taijutsu stances which made many of the teachers widen their eyes. A few of them blinked at Naruto, instantly recognising his father's personal style, built around the Namikaze's legendary speed. Shisui just settled into the typical Uchiha interceptor stance as Naruto cocked his head to one side.

"You know that style is much more effective with the Sharingan." Naruto stated clinically. Shisui offered small smile in return, not rising to the jibe.

"I have to make do until it surfaces, until then it has proven effective enough."

Naruto just nodded with a small shrug as neither opponent moved; the inevitable problem arising when two Taijutsu styles built around counter-attacking meet. Naruto decided to get things moving considering the only disadvantage he had with his style was that his body wasn't at its peak speed yet. He moved forward, pressing off his dominant leg as he flashed across the small arena in a blur of red. Many of the students and even some of the teachers were left speechless from the display of speed.

Naruto quickly unleashed a small but efficient sweeping blow to Shisui's left side, hoping that it was the boy's weaker side. He was wrong though and even without his Sharingan the inherent reflexes honed by training allowed the Uchiha to divert the blow from his body before counter attacking with a higher punch aimed at Naruto's head. The Namikaze couldn't bite back a smile, finally allowing his style to come into its own.

The whole concept of the Taijutsu style was to be faster that your opponent, allowing you to first predict their attack, much like the interceptor style. However unlike the Uchiha's patented style his did not work by diverting attacks followed by counter attacking. Instead the idea was to attack while your opponent was still attacking, strangely more of an interception that it's Sharingan-reliant counterpart.

He demonstrated this quickly as he moved his body out of the way of Shisui's precisely aimed, but too slow punch. He quickly brought his own arm up, landing three successive blows along the boy's arm at the wrist, elbow and shoulder consecutively. While Shisui was caught off guard by the attack, he swung around, delivering a powerful kick faster than most could follow to the boy's chest. He was sent skidding back, but not quite out of the arena as a small smile appeared on the Uchiha's face.

"Impressive."

Naruto just nodded politely, his opponent's style was also nothing to be laughed at, even if it wasn't complete. If he was any slower the fight would be swinging the other way for sure and there would be nothing he could do about it. Deciding to finish it quickly as not to be upstaged by Anko, he rushed forward, dissolving into a bur of red. He span mid-stride, looking as though he was going to deliver a spinning kick to Shisui's chest again only to suddenly drop down onto his back, spinning on the ground until he thrust upwards, catching the Uchiha in the chin.

Shisui was finally sent flying out of the arena, not injured very badly but that wasn't the point of the exercise so Naruto didn't have to do any more. If the students watching weren't startled before then they were now, even a few of the teachers were quieted by the performance. Most were writing off Naruto as a Genin already, easily if his other skills matched his incredible Taijutsu. That wasn't to say they weren't also impressed with Shisui but without really seeing more of him fighting they couldn't be sure of his skill-level.

Naruto walked over and offered a hand to the dark-haired boy who smirked and took the offered hand, letting the redhead pull him to his feet. They were done for the day so the teachers just let them leave and Naruto was about to go home when a hand caught his shoulder. He spun, only to see the smiling face of Shisui staring at him kindly.

"Hey, you want to train some time? It's so hard to find a good sparring partner when everybody you train with has the same style." Naruto paused for a moment in surprise; he had never really been invited to do anything before.

"Uhh, sure I guess." Shisui just smiled in response and he waved goodbye to Naruto and walked off.

"Alright, I'll meet you at the Uchiha compound tomorrow night then?"

Naruto just nodded lamely as Shisui ran off, Itachi in tow as they both headed back to their homes. Naruto noticed the grounds had pretty much been vacated except for Anko who stood off to one side, smirking at him deviously.

"What?" Naruto gawked. Anko just shrugged innocently her face turning into a mask of barely hidden amusement.

"Nothing, just noticing for somebody so cold you seem to be attracting a lot of friends." Naruto just chuckled, she wasn't the only one who had been noticing; it seemed the more he wanted to be left alone the more people seemed to flock to him.

"I'm not that cold am I?"

Anko just chuckled as she moved closer, mischief glimmering in her eyes.

"Of course not. Anyway, what's on tonight's agenda, Fishcake-sensei?" she whispered conspiratorially. Naruto grimaced at the still irritating nickname before his own curious look graced his features.

"And who do say you needs training? I saw you fight that Inuzuka, you've obviously been trained by somebody." Anko raised an eyebrow at the implication as she crossed her arm over her currently non-existent chest.

"And what if it's all self-taught?" There was a chuckle from Naruto, genuinely this time, "Then I think I should be the one asking for training." Anko just snorted, her harsh attitude melting as quickly as it had formed as she uncrossed her arms again.

"As if! You have all those fancy family moves." Naruto just shrugged, neither agreeing nor disagreeing completely as he began to walk off in the direction of his home. "Oh, are you going home already?" Naruto turned with a slightly bemused expression.

"Uhh... yeah. Why? Aren't you?" Anko seemed nervous about something, even if she was trying to hide it well; her hands were fidgeting behind her as she looked away from him.

"Oh, uhh, sure." She made a turn to leave and Naruto grimaced, getting the idea that she didn't really want to go home at all. He fought with it for a moment as Anko continued to walk away, far too slowly to be at all eager about where she was going.

"Hey Anko, do you want to go and get something to eat or something?" Anko spun on a heel, obvious surprise on her face as she looked at Naruto, taking in his slightly concerned expression.

"Umm, Okay." She quickly hurried back over but for good measure punched him in the arm lightly. "If you insist, I mean jeez." Naruto chuckled but it didn't stop his eyes from furrowing into a frown as he led Anko away from the academy. She would talk about inane things as they walked but even so he still caught the signs of nervousness that slowly eased the more they talked.


	3. New arrangements

Anko was surprised when Naruto, instead of taking her towards the village, began leading her towards the clan districts. She was doubly surprised when he finally led her to a small, but quaint two story home, hidden next to the Nara clan estate. Naruto just smiled at her as he unlocked the door, leading her through as she looked around in trepidation. Naruto caught her nervousness again and just patted her on the shoulder before moving through the house towards the kitchen.

"You wanted to eat right?" Anko just nodded with a small from as she took after the redhead, suddenly very curious about where he lived.

"Yeah but I thought you meant a restaurant or something." She heard Naruto snort from the kitchen and quickly walked through the door to already see him put a large pot on for boil.

"Why would I take you to a restaurant when I make the best ramen ever?!" Anko snickered at that, some of the tension easing form the air with the small boast.

"Isn't that a bit presumptuous?" Naruto turned around, blinking at the long word for a moment. His smile returned slowly, thinking he understood it.

"Kaa-san taught me the recipe and hers was the best ramen ever so naturally mine will be too!" He said it as though it should be obvious. In a weird way, the slightly twisted logic made sense to Anko's young mind. Naruto left the water on to boil as he sat down at the kitchen table, struggling just a bit to get onto the tall chair.

"She sounded awesome." Naruto nodded with a sad smile as he looked down at the table, noting some of the stains that littered the wood. He couldn't remember what each was from but he was sure it was probably a humorous moment when his Kaa-san found out about it.

"Yeah." He looked up suddenly, curiosity evident on his young face. "You're always talking about my parents, what about yours? I mean won't they be worried if you don't go home?" Anko looked away for a moment, her gaze just catching a photo on a shelf nearby. In it she saw a younger Naruto, maybe four years old, on a tall blonde man's shoulders she recognised as the former Hokage. To their left a kindly red-haired woman hugged her husband tightly, smiling at the camera with beautiful purple eyes, the same colour as Naruto's.

"I, I don't have parents; I never knew them." Naruto looked down sadly, his next question dying on his tongue as he looked across at the melancholic girl sitting next to him. "I was raised in the orphanage for as long as I can remember." Naruto looked away, idly checking on the boiling water before turning his attention back.

"But then why don't you-" Anko turned suddenly with a hint of anger, not aimed at Naruto though.

"No, I hate it there. The other kids are mean and bullies." Naruto went quiet again as Anko once again took to staring at the small framed photo, wishing that she could have memories like that.

"So who taught you how to fight?"Anko scowled at that, managing to tear her eyes away from the photo for a moment. Her eyes softened though when she just saw Naruto's genuinely curious expression; she was still shocked at just how genuine he could be.

"There was a boy, a few years older than us. He was at the orphanage as well; he was called Aoi. There were some kids picking on me because of my eyes so he beat them up." Naruto blinked at that, he couldn't see anything wrong with Anko's eyes, they reminded him of chocolate. "After that he taught me how to fight so I could protect myself; then he left, went to the academy and I never saw him again." Naruto nodded at that slowly, still trying to puzzle out the thing with Anko's eyes as he failed to prioritize in his mind.

"Ever since then the other kids just ignored me, treated me like I didn't belong just because I defended myself. The people who work there hate me as well, I can tell, they ignore me too and think I'm a bad influence on the other kids." Naruto wasn't quite sure what to say at this point, he couldn't imagine living like that, it seemed really lonely. Suddenly his eyes shot open wide and he nearly fell off his chair as he rushed over to the pot on the stove, now boiling over. He quickly adjusted it so it was on simmer before adding in the noodles and various vegetables for flavouring.

When he returned to the table Anko seemed pretty much back to her usual self, the sadness in her eyes gone, or at least hidden for now. Naruto didn't say anything, not wanting to upset the girl any more than he might have already. They stayed in silence for a little bit as Naruto continued to cook and Anko flitted her gaze between him and the photos dotted around the room. Finally when the ramen as ready Naruto lay it out on the table in front of Anko, giving the girl a small smile as he did so.

"Itadakimasu." Anko nodded back with her own fleeting grin before tucking into the steaming Ramen, her eyes immediately lighting up as she drank in the broth.

"Het, fis is reaggy goog!" Naruto chuckled as she returned to trying to eat the ramen as fast as physically possible, managing to get through it in an impressive time.

"Wow! If you think this is good just wait until I take you to Ichiraku's." Anko just nodded happily as she drank down the rest of the broth, smacking her lips loudly in satisfaction.

"If it's better than this, then I'm in!" Naruto chuckled again as he took her bowl, bringing it over to the sink where he could wash it up later. He turned back around with a smile and Anko suddenly looked very meek, her hands once again fiddling behind her.

"So umm, thanks for the food, I guess, I should, uhh, probably go then." Naruto cocked his head to the side ever so slightly as he gazed at her suddenly inverse attitude. He was amazed at how quickly she could go from a bubbly pile of energy to a meek little girl. He just stood there, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly as he looked between her and the door.

"Umm, you don't have to, I mean you could uhh stay here I guess; It's not like I have to ask my parents or anything." He chuckled lightly, blinking afterwards when he realised just what he said. Anko just looked startled, not really expecting anybody to ever be so kind to her.

"Really?" Naruto just nodded without really meaning to, his body just reacting automatically.

"Umm yeah?" In a flash so quick he though his dad was back, Anko was across the room, hugging him tightly with her head over one of his shoulders.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Naruto stared blankly, frozen in the contact, completely unsure of what to do in this situation. Once again though he was reminded that Anko hadn't changed in two days as his nose was assaulted by the scent of earth and pine needles, as well as a few other less pleasant scents.

"But you umm, might want to take a shower." Anko immediately broke away, a huge blush staining her cheeks as she coughed into her hand nervously.

"Uhh right, sorry." Naruto led her to the bathroom where she quickly ducked in, still managing to maintain her slight blush the whole way there. Naruto laughed as he went back downstairs; scampering away to grab his scroll. He had left it absently in the hallway along the way. He sat at the kitchen table, eating the rest of his ramen calmly as he occasionally scribbled down a note in his scroll. By now he would usually be out doing his normal exercises but he supposed that could wait for a day, while he had a guest.

He heard Anko before she came in, the smacking of her damp feet against the tiled floor was a dead giveaway. However he wasn't expecting her to come down only wrapped in a towel, covering her almost like a full dress. She laughed excitedly with a hand behind her head, her eyes closed in a sheepish way as she motioned to the towel with her hand.

"I just remembered I don't have any other clothes." Naruto blanched, a strange blush spreading across his face before he beat it back, not even sure why it was there in the first place.

"O-Oh. Right. Umm, there should be clothes that fit you in the closet upstairs; my parents never threw anything out." Anko just nodded, still with her eyes closed in that strange smiling fashion that somehow managed to look cute.

"Thanks." She quickly spun on her heel as Naruto turned back to his scroll, but not before his eyes naturally gravitated toward Anko's retreating form. He shook his head wearily, the day just kept getting longer. Anko jogged back through the house, taking the steps two or three at a time as she quickly hurried into a large room with double bed. She figured it was probably Naruto's parents' based on the photos on the dresser. She opened up the large walk-in closet and was surprised by the mass of clothes she found.

Naruto was right when he said his parents never threw anything away; there were clothes that looked like they would fit them when they were kids her age. She saw a load of the same tracksuit that Naruto always wore and wondered briefly if they once belonged to his father. Her attention was quickly diverted when she spotted the large white coat hanging at the very end on the closet. She blinked in surprise as she gently trailed a hand down its silky material, ending at the red flame pattern at the bottom.

The Hokage had visited the orphanage a few times when she had been there and she had always been captivated by the coat. He always looked so confident, so powerful; it made her wonder if Naruto would be like that someday. She let it fall back onto its hanger as she took in the rest of the wardrobe. It was mostly Jonin outfits, a few flak jackets and some long dresses that had to belong to Naruto's mother. Finally she managed to find a long yellow shirt that acted as a dress as well. It wasn't really Anko's style but she didn't have anything else; she quickly slipped it on, tying it across with a light grey sash that seemed to go with it.

Finally, she looked at herself in the mirror on the door, turning to look at herself fully. She was fairly indifferent to the clothes, but they would do for now, at least until she got her own washed. She rushed back downstairs only to find Naruto in the exact same position as before, casually writing in his scroll. Knowing how good his ears were, she didn't even bother to try and sneak up on him. Instead, she just walked up behind him and peered over his shoulder. If Naruto minded the action he didn't show it, but inside he couldn't help but notice how nice Anko now smelt.

"Watcha doing?" Naruto just lifted the scroll slightly higher so that Anko could see it better however when she looked she just saw a bunch of seemingly random squiggles and the occasional annotation. "What are they?" Naruto put the scroll back down, putting away his ink brush as he rolled the scroll back up.

"Seals. My dad was a master in them. He had me practise my handwriting every day so that I could learn them as well. He told me to always have a scroll with me so that I could jot down anything that came to mind; he said it was how he first thought of the Hiraishin." Anko blinked at the unfamiliar word, looking between Naruto's neutral face and the scroll a few times.

"The Hirai-what?" Naruto's lips curled up into a small smile as he pushed off the chair, standing up next to Anko.

"The Hiraishin was my father's signature Jutsu, it allowed him to instantly move to anywhere he had placed a special sealing formula." His brow seemed to furrow in thought as he slowly moved into another room, carefully rummaging in a drawer before pulling out a strange-looking kunai. "Most of the time he used these" He pointed out the kanji wrapped around the hilt of the kunai "He would throw them to surprise his opponent then flash to it. He used the Jutsu to end the third Shinobi war, earning his nickname, the Yellow flash." Anko just listened in amazement, starting to realise just why the man had been elected Hokage.

"Wow, he sounds really smart." Naruto nodded with another sad smile as he replaced the kunai in the drawer.

"Yeah, but one day I'll figure out how he did it, something not even his teacher could do, then I'll make him proud by making an even better Jutsu!" In that brief moment Anko couldn't doubt Naruto for a second; despite his level voice she could feel he determination radiating off him in waves. He shrugged with a small smile, motioning to the scroll again "But until then, I have to work my way up from the basics like he did." Anko pouted at that, if there was one thing she didn't like - it was having to wait for something good - even if it was definitely worth it. However a smirk quickly replaced the pout as she looked at Naruto.

"Well just make sure you don't leave me behind when you become the fastest guy alive." Naruto's smile grew a bit as he laughed.

"Of course not. You're my friend aren't you? Come on, I'm used to training at this time, you can join me if you like." He smiled again and walked out the room towards the large open field out the back of the house. Anko just stood still, rooted in her spot as she let Naruto's words sink in. She had never had a friend before, at least not anybody who would openly say it like that. While her tone had been joking it was a genuine concern of hers; the only other person to ever show her any kindness had quickly abandoned her, thrown her aside to move on with their own life. She just didn't think she could go through that... again.

Realising she had zoned out a little and could hear Naruto calling her from outside, she quickly ran out, slipping on her sandals as she went. The two sparred for a while, Naruto testing out how effective Anko's Taijutsu was. It was an excellent style, if seemingly haphazard, unrefined and imbalanced. Despite her skill, due to his inherent speed, Anko was still unable to land a hit on him once. Even so, in that brief hour he managed to correct a few things that she had let develop into habits that would very well get her killed in a serious fight.

By the end, the purple-haired Kunoichi-to-be was panting and out of breath, while Naruto was only a little winded, his reactions slightly dulled. Usually, a session like that would have him feeling the same as Anko, but lately he had been less and less tired by what used to be exhausting. He looked down with narrowed eyes at his stomach, knowing exactly why that was. Anko caught her breath as she stood back up, sweat now soaking her clothes and slickening the hair that wasn't tied into her pineapple-styled ponytail.

"H-How come you aren't even tired?" Naruto just shrugged with a casual smile, for once not having to strain himself to do so. He always felt relaxed after a training session; it meant his mind was focused on one thing alone, keeping his thoughts from straying to the past.

"I'm just used to it I guess." Anko just nodded, too tired to argue with the explanation as she slowly walked back inside. She managed to catch a second wind as she straightened up, looking at Naruto curiously as he wiped of the small amount of sweat that had accumulated on his forehead.

"So uhh, where can I sleep?" Like before, Naruto immediately froze, for some reason feeling incredibly awkward as he stood there and again not knowing why. Anko seemed to notice this and quickly clarified with a nonchalant shrug. "Like, I'm okay with the couch if you don't have room or anything." Naruto quickly shook his head, managing to push out a small smile.

"Umm no, we have a few beds or some fold-out futons." Recently he had just been sleeping in his parents' room, ignoring his old room in favour of the one that reminded him of his parents. Anko just nodded as Naruto led her upstairs again, this time in the opposite direction to the master bedroom and the bathroom. As the passed a slightly open room Anko peeked in subtly, noticing the colourfully painted walls and small but cosy crib set up in the corner.

Finally Naruto stopped at the end of the hallway, pushing open a door to a fairly plain, white-painted room with a single bed and a few unused shelves. It was a guest room for the times when his father would personally host a guest from another nation. As such the bed was suitably comfortable while the entire room maintained a very neutral atmosphere. To Anko though, when she compared it to the slightly dingy room that she shared with two other girls, it was like a small palace.

"You could sleep here if you want." Anko just nodded lamely before catching herself and smiling her usual bright smile.

"Umm... thanks. It's perfect." Naruto shrugged, still feeling slightly awkward about all this. He turned to leave and put Anko's clothes in the wash, but she quickly caught his hand before he could go. He turned, not quite sure what to expect; it certainly wasn't to be pulled into a brief but warm hug. He took a shallow breath, struggling to process a vague feeling inside him, once again finding himself in a situation he had no idea how to react to, twice in a day.

"Thank you for being my friend." Naruto just nodded mechanically, chuckling nervously, before Anko finally released him, disappearing into her own room with the smallest of blushes across the bridge of her nose. The redhead walked towards the bathroom in a daze, not realising the smile that had automatically found its way onto his face.

The next day found Anko, for once, waking up with a smile in a warm, dry bed to the smell of cooking drifting into her room. She rubbed her eyes, stretching out in the bed as she fought off the last vestiges of sleep, swinging her legs out of bed. To her surprise, she found her clothes neatly folded at the end of her bed, cleaned and dried by Naruto. She paused in surprise before slipping them on not having felt so clean and warm in a long time. She slipped on her sandals as sleepily made her way downstairs where she found Naruto calmly eating his breakfast, a bowl of rice and some Sashimi, with another place laid out next to him, obviously for her.

When he saw her come down he smiled in her direction before returning to his meal, reading through a scroll rolled out on the table next to his bowl. Anko just hesitantly sat down, once again kind of unsure how to take the small offering of kindness. In the end though her grumbling stomach won out and she hesitantly but happily tucked into the filling breakfast. When they were both finished Naruto stood up, grabbing his backpack off a peg in the hallway as he looked around at Anko.

"Umm, thanks for the clothes and stuff." The redhead just smiled and shrugged, making the young girl curious as to how he could be so off-handed about the kindness he showed her.

"No problem, it's what friends do right?" Not that either of them knew that, never having had a real person they could properly call a friend before. Naruto honestly didn't mind, having somebody around the house made it feel less empty and that worked for him. "Come on, we gotta get to the academy." Anko just nodded, glad for the distraction as she grabbed one of the bentos Naruto had prepared and followed him out of the house.

The day passed relatively quickly. A few people believed that was because Anko wasn't tying her hardest to annoy the teacher ceaselessly. In fact, the purple-haired girl was relatively subdued throughout the day, something their sensei was gracious for. She looked to be in thought during class, not about the boring lectures of course, but about a certain red-haired boy who she couldn't puzzle out. Itachi joined them at lunch again, surprisingly with Shisui in tow, the two Uchiha apparently having become easy friends since the other day.

Finally the day ended and reluctantly Anko returned to the orphanage, not accepting Naruto's offer to come around again. She wanted to, but it felt so wrong to be taking advantage of his hospitality; just to get away from her own problems. Naruto body seemed sluggish after that. He would have to go home to an empty house again. But, he managed to shrug it off as he jogged off towards the Uchiha compound, not forgetting his promise to Shisui. He knocked on the massive gate and waited for a few moments before a very unimpressed Uchiha opened it from the other side, casually observing the young boy with his Sharingan active.

"Yes?" Naruto gave his best respectful bow, just as his father had taught him before smiling lightly.

"I was invited to spar with Shisui." He made sure not to phrase it as anything remotely like a question and the man at the gate seemed to get that, moving aside for the boy to walk past.

"Shisui's home is the last one on the left down that road." He motioned in the correct direction before closing the gate behind Naruto, walking off without a second glance. Naruto gave him one more look before walking down the road he had motioned to, quickly finding the right house as he knocked on the door. He was greeted by a kindly, but somewhat tired-looking woman who took one look down at him, smiling instantly.

She had long black hair that fell about her shoulders in shiny waves, catching the weak sunlight that filtered through the trees in the area. Her eyes were the same black as most Uchiha but like Naruto had noticed earlier they had an unusual weight or burden to them. She looked well dressed and in shape leading Naruto to believe she was, or at least had been a Shinobi, probably retiring as his mother had to raise her family.

"You must be Naruto Namikaze, Shisui told me you might be coming over. Naruto quickly nodded with a small polite bow.

"Yes Uchiha-san." The woman smiled more fondly as she patted him on the shoulder.

"There's no need for that, please, Shisui is in the training ground around the back with his friend Itachi." Naruto smiled in thanks before following her finger and walking around the back of the house. He rounded the corner only to immediately dodge back lest he be incinerated by an enormous ball of flames that suddenly roared in his direction. He poked his head around the corner again with wide eyes only to see a sheepish-looking Shisui and a slightly amused Itachi.

"Sorry about that Naruto, I was just practising." Naruto just gulped as he nodded, having seen his brief life flash before his eyes; he hadn't eaten enough ramen.

"Uhh, no problem." Shisui smiled more brightly at that, motioning for Naruto to come over to where he and Itachi were standing together.

"Thanks for coming over. It's going to be good to have a sparring partner who doesn't know my every move." He purposefully looked at Itachi as he spoke causing the other boy to simply raise an eyebrow at the semi-accusation. Naruto nodded in agreement, he just thought it would be good to have a sparring partner, period. Until now, he'd had play-fights with his father who'd never really taken him all that seriously. It would be beneficial to have an actual spar with somebody else on, or at least close to his level.

"Do you want to start straight away?" Shisui nodded with a careful grin as Itachi quickly moved out of the way, he too wanted to have a spar with Naruto, but thought he would let his other friend go first. It intrigued him to see somebody defeat somebody like Shisui who had nearly as good a grasp on the interceptor style as he did. Both boys settled into the make-shift ring that was set up in the training ground, falling back into their individual stances.

The fight was relatively short, as was pretty much expected after Naruto's display in the academy. However, Shisui learned a lot from it. One thing he knew was that he seriously needed to activate his Sharingan to make his style as effective as it could be. Another was that Naruto didn't pull punches in a spar, ever; his aching ribs were pretty much testament to that. However, he was happy, hoping that he could learn from his defeats and better himself, as was the Uchiha way. He moved to the side, limping slightly from a particularly vicious kick from Naruto as Itachi took his place.

"If you don't mind, I would like to spar as well." Naruto just nodded with a small grin, feeling slightly confident after beating Shisui again. Like his other opponent, Itachi settled into his Taijutsu stance. Only, this time Naruto was surprised to see him shut his eyes calmly. He concentrated for a flash, opening them again, revealing a single-tomoe Sharingan rotating slowly. Naruto blinked, completely stunned. Only for Itachi to use that to his advantage, rushing forward and going in for a low sweep in order to take out Naruto's speed advantage early.

The redhead flipped back out of the way, using his hands to push off the ground to avoid the low leg only to get a surprise as Itachi spun again, this time pushing off the ground and catching Naruto with a harsh kick in mid-air where he couldn't dodge. Naruto was sent flying back but he caught the ground in time to land in a stable three-point stance, a grin now on his face as he held his ribs. This time he was to one to engage, feinting to the right only to duck down and try to deliver a fast uppercut to the Uchiha's chin.

Itachi pulled his head back at the last minute, flicking out his arm in order to catch Naruto's shirt so he could use his momentum to flip the other boy. However, his hands met only air before he felt Naruto slam into him from behind; this time he was the one to skid across the floor. Both boys stared at one another, one with a grin and the other with a reserved smile as they both straightened up. Shisui was amazed by what he had seen, or hadn't seen due to the speed Naruto was able to move at; he had never seen anybody land a hit on Itachi before.

The two boys traded a few more glancing blows, Itachi using his Sharingan to predict Naruto's fast movements while Naruto just used his speed to evade Itachi's counterattacks. It was fairly clear from an outsider's perspective that the boys were perfectly matched, neither gaining the upper hand on the other. Finally they both stopped, panting from the drawn out spar as they stared across at one another, both smiling from the good fight.

"Very impressive, your style seems to be able to find all the weaknesses in my own." Naruto just nodded as he straightened up, wiping a line of sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, and your Sharingan's damn hard to get around, I can't wait to fight you when it evolves." Itachi just smirked; he shared that sentiment completely, as did Shisui. They were interrupted by slow clapping form behind them, all three boys turning to see an older man Naruto immediately recognised as the leader of the Uchiha clan. He looked a lot like an older Itachi with a more pronounced jaw and slight wrinkles around his mouth and eyes from age.

"Impressive Itachi, I'm proud that you have already advanced so far with your abilities." The younger Uchiha just bowed politely.

"Thank you father." Fugaku smiled and turned his attention to Naruto, his eyes narrowing slightly even though his smile didn't falter.

"You're Naruto, then. I remember seeing you when you were much younger, cradled in your mother's arms when she would visit my wife. I see a lot of your father in you, especially in your abilities and speed. The two of them wanted you and my son to be friends and it seems that had happened naturally without any intervention. I hope you can keep Itachi on his toes, as future clan heads you two need to be as powerful as you can be." Naruto nodded respectfully in the older man's direction, feeling like there was a more subtle message behind the polite words.

"Thank you Uchiha-san." Fugaku just nodded, turning his attention back to Itachi as he motioned with his hand.

"Come Itachi, I have a clan meeting and your mother needs you to watch Sasuke." Itachi nodded respectfully towards his father, smiling to Naruto and Shisui before following the man out. When the two boys were just alone Naruto heard Shisui let out a deep breath he had been holding.

"Jeez that guy always puts me on edge." Naruto chuckled as he turned back to who he was quickly understanding to be the lighter-hearted of his two new Uchiha friends.

"He seemed alright." Shisui just laughed as he walked back into the sparring ring.

"Try saying that when the guy could have you banished from the clan with your Sharingan sealed." Naruto blinked, wondering why somebody would ever have to have that happen. "Come on, my side feels better now, maybe this time I might be able to land a hit on you." Naruto took one last look in the direction Fugaku and Itachi had walked before turning around with a small smile.

"You can try."


	4. New goals

Naruto wasn't quite sure when exactly Anko moved into his house, it was really more of a gradual thing anyway. She would occasionally come over and stay the night to get away from the orphanage, even though Naruto never said she wasn't welcome. Then after a few weeks, when she realised Naruto really didn't mind her staying, she began to come more often. Gradually, she began by keeping things in the guest room, scrolls and books from the academy and even a few clothes. Then one day, when they were both eating breakfast in the kitchen they simultaneously realised Anko hadn't gone back to the orphanage in over two weeks.

Everything she owned was now in Naruto's guest room which by now was no doubt hers. Naruto probably realised before even she did, he didn't mind though, it was like having a roommate. He gave her a place to stay where she wouldn't be mistreated, ignored or abused and in turn she brought back some of the noise into his life that had left him when his parents died. It only helped that the two had managed to become fast friends in their months at the academy, mostly inseparable in or outside of class.

Theirs wasn't the only bond formed; in those same months Naruto would repeatedly come over to the Uchiha district and train with either Itachi or Shisui. On occasion the two would even come over to the Namikaze estate, neither of them mentioning the strange situation of Naruto practically living with Anko. They too became friends, good ones too and by proxy they became friends with Anko, helping her train as long as it wasn't too inconveniencing. Nowadays in Naruto's free time he would either find himself hanging out with Anko or Shisui or training profusely with Itachi.

What had started out as a method to help train and find each others' weaknesses to overcome them had become a full-blown rivalry. It was all in good sport though, outside of training or the academy the two would be just as friendly as Naruto was with Shisui. Naruto had tried to introduce the two Uchiha to the wonder that was Ramen yet only Anko really took to it with the same passion as he did. Growing up with food in the orphanage Anko could find the simplest of dishes more than delicious, strangely that seemed to apply even more to anything Naruto cooked for her.

Of course, Anko wasn't an ungrateful or lazy tenant; she pitched in so she would feel she wasn't taking advantage of Naruto. Growing up in somewhat of a communal situation, despite not actually being a part of that community in the orphanage, Anko had picked up the skills to properly wash her own clothes and sometimes even cook for Naruto. The first time she had though Naruto had been quite violently sick that night, he hadn't even thought that was a possibility with the fox sealed in him but somehow she had found a way.

Over their time spent living together, Naruto taught her how to cook in the same way his mother had him. Eventually, her dishes were palatable yet both agreed it was better when Naruto cooked, not that he minded at all. Their training also kept them busy with their skills growing in leaps and bounds with each passing day. Sometimes, Anko would look on anxiously at him, feeling distant. He really was a genius like his father. She almost wanted to shrink away and disappear, he was so bright compared to her; so far ahead of her. However, compared to the rest of their class, she was the fourth ranked student behind Shisui with Itachi and Naruto always switching places for top ranked.

She had found her own, slightly less serious rivalry with the same brown-haired Inuzuka she had fought in their first sparring session, Hana as she had found she was called. They would be mock-enemies in class, always competing against one another, generally with Anko coming out on top. It did push the girl to train harder though, surprisingly reaching out beyond her limiting clan techniques although she still wasn't anywhere near Naruto, Itachi or Shisui.

Over time Naruto opened up more with his emotions, slowly breaking down the wall that had been built when his parents died. He shared more with Anko and eventually with Itachi and Shisui as well. He still hadn't told anybody about the burden he carried but he thought he eventually would; he just hoped they wouldn't think differently of him for it. Anko too shared more and more, of her experiences growing up, of the orphanage, and of her brief time with Aoi. They were happy as a group and it stayed that way through the year.

Eventually, their comfortable equilibrium was broken, by a knock on the door of all things. Naruto and Anko were out in the back of the house, training as usual seeing as they had just gotten back from the Academy. Naruto heard the door and held up a hand to stop, quickly jogging through the house to the front door. When he opened it he was surprised to see the Hokage standing there, smiling down at the young redhead. He hadn't seen Hiruzen since the memorial service almost six months earlier, or at least they hadn't spoken.

"Hello Naruto, I thought I would come by, see how you were getting along." the Hokage said gently.

Naruto smiled politely, stepping aside to allow the older man to enter which he did. Hiruzen smiled as he gazed around the house, having visited more than a few times before and after Naruto's birth. He noted happily that it was well-kept, even if a few articles of clothing were strewn across furniture now and again; he just didn't know those weren't Naruto's. It at least told him the boy hadn't gone into any kind of depression over his parents' deaths like he had feared.

He was also happy to hear that Naruto was top of the class, even if he shared that space with the Uchiha clan heir, really to be expected though from Minato's son. That told him he hadn't neglected his training at all, even reports of him visiting the Uchiha compound and making friends. In all Hiruzen was rather glad, he was very busy in the last few months dealing with the aftermath of the attack and didn't have time to visit Naruto so it was heart-warming to see he was doing just fine.

However, he didn't expect to walk into the house, only to see a young purple-haired girl walk in from the back door, looking at the Hokage first curiously then in surprise. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at the scene, scanning the house again as he took note of all the slightly feminine clothing dotted around. He turned back around to Naruto but the boy simply walked past him, smiling at Anko before moving into the kitchen to prepare some tea as his mother had taught him to do when entertaining guests.

"Hello, Anko is it?" The Hokage had made a note to know every face in his village; the young girl was no exception. Anko just nodded quickly and respectfully, some of Naruto's polite personality managing to rub off on her, slightly. "It's good to see you." Anko smiled a little nervously, never having spoken to the Hokage before, even when the fourth was still alive.

"And you, Hokage-sama." she said with awkward stifness laden in her voice.

Hiruzen just waved a hand, dismissing the formal suffix; after he had retired he had hoped to be rid of it, as well as a certain amount of paperwork.

"Please child, no need for the pleasantries, I am no more important to this village than anybody else." Anko nodded slowly, obviously not believing the overtly humble statement but following him as they both walked into the kitchen anyway. Hiruzen was mildly surprised when he found Naruto already laying out three cups of steaming tea, smiling pleasantly at the Hokage and Anko.

"Very kind of you Naruto." The redhead simply nodded as he sat down at the table.

"Might I ask why you're visiting Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen sighed, knowing it would be a losing battle to try and get Naruto to treat him with anything but the utmost politeness; his father was exactly the same, even when he had been Hokage himself.

"I just thought I would come and see how you're getting along, with your studies, friends and the like." As he said friends he made sure to glance in Anko's direction; watching the girl as she sipped her tea like it was the most normal situation in the world. Naruto just smiled as he settled back in his chair, his defences really had come down with Anko's help, he was smiling a lot more now; not like he used to, but more.

"Please Hokage-sama; you have records of all out progress updated monthly, if you wanted to know you could simply flick through my file." The Hokage nodded with a smirk of his own, Naruto was sharp like his father but with just the hint of cheekiness he got from his mother.

"Ahh but it's nothing like hearing from the source." Naruto nodded with a smile, admitting that small fact.

"I guess... I have been keeping up with the training schedule my father had planned for me while also staying ahead of my studies, as you probably know I'm top of the class along with my friend Itachi." The Hokage nodded, indeed knowing this beforehand and he was curious about it.

"Tell me, how exactly did that happen? I knew your mother was very well acquainted with Mikoto Uchiha but before you started at the academy I thought you had limited interaction with them at best." Naruto nodded, in fact he had limited interaction with children his age period.

"He approached me at lunch on our second day, with a lunch prepared by his mother. We talked and became friends. We train together every so often too; I think he sees me as somewhat of a rival, I see him the same way." Hiruzen smiled as he sipped his tea, a rivalry was always good to push students harder as long as it didn't get too out of hand.

"Very good, and I assume you met Shisui through him?" Naruto shook his head with his own smirk, it felt somewhat good to have information the Hokage didn't, no matter how inconsequential.

"No, we became friends after the first sparring session of the Academy, he likes to have a partner who can keep him on his toes but doesn't have the same style of fighting as him." The Hokage nodded, somewhat surprised at how civil and mature Naruto could be as he talked. In his opinion it was nothing how a six, bordering on seven year-old should be but there was little he could do about the strange precociousness. Finally Hiruzen turned his gaze to Anko, the girl still sipping away at her tea slowly, so far staying out of the conversation.

"And how did you two meet?" Naruto just chuckled as Anko smiled sweetly before she explained about her unconventional arrival to the academy on her first day and seeing Naruto climb up the building. If Hiruzen was surprised that Naruto was already proficient with the tree-climbing exercise he didn't show it. He might've though if he knew that wasn't the extent of Naruto's chakra control exercises. Hiruzen however seemed concerned with the living arrangements and while understanding it made both their lives less lonely he still had to be the adult in the situation.

"Naruto, as much as it pains me to say this after hearing just how friendly you two have become Anko cannot continue to live with you." Both kids looked up at the man in shock and disbelief, Anko especially; she didn't want to leave. For the first time in her life since she was little she was happy and it was mainly thanks to Naruto. The redhead was also distressed about this turn of events.

"What? Why?!" Hiruzen sighed, arguments with children, especially those as stubborn and mature as Naruto were always difficult.

"Naruto, she is in the legal care of the orphanage; that is her home." Anko huffed loudly at that, nearly dropping her tea cup as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"That place will never be my home." Hiruzen sighed again, trying to get the right meaning across in his words that would get through to the two kids who had obviously grown very attached.

"While you may think that way it is still the orphanage's obligation to care for you and by living here you make that impossible for them." Anko still didn't look happy in fact she only grew more irritated.

"So what?! I've been living with Naruto for three months and the orphanage did nothing! They're probably glad I'm gone!" Hiruzen frowned at that, however unnoticeably, he should have been contacted if a child had gone missing from the orphanage for that long. Also the fact that Naruto had not only cared for himself but another child as well wasn't exactly good news, even if it did show his maturity in a new light.

"Come on Hokage-sama! It's not like we're hurting anybody, if anything everybody is happier this way. This house is too big for just me anyway and I don't mind having Anko live here," he shot an apologetic look at the girl before continuing "And from what Anko tells me her experience in the orphanage wasn't ideal, here she feels safer and with us training together she is improving at the academy as well." Hiruzen sighed; he argued with the same undeniable passion and logic as both his parents, it was like talking to Minato himself if he was shorter and a redhead.

"I can see the benefits Naruto, but there is a reason there is protocol and systems in place, if Anko's experience was as you say 'less than ideal' there are people she is supposed to go to." He turned and addressed Anko directly "Not included in those people, despite how good they're to confide in, are your fellow academy students." Anko just seemed to shrink into her chair slightly under the Hokage's warm but undeniably powerful gaze. Naruto didn't really feel like giving up on this though, as his mother wouldn't.

"Well isn't there some way she could come and live here properly then?" Anko looked up and around in surprise at the redhead. Before now, both had just sort of accepted their living situation without really discussing it. This was the first time either of them had openly admitted to wanting it like this and it made her feel a little warmer inside to know somebody actually wanted her around. Hiruzen just sighed, putting a hand to his forehead in both exasperation and thought.

"Until Anko becomes a fully fledged adult or has a legal guardian she is under the care of the system." Naruto narrowed his eyes at this, frustrated that the Hokage kept coming back to that same point.

"Then how can I be made her guardian?" Hiruzen looked up from his palm, genuinely surprised Naruto was fighting so hard for this. He didn't know if it was genuine affection for Anko or just his inherited stubborn streak in his Uzumaki genes.

"You need to be an adult to be made somebody's guardian Naruto." Naruto finally smiled in victory, even though Hiruzen had no idea what was going through the boy's mind.

"Then as soon as I become a Shinobi I'm eligible right?" Hiruzen's eyebrows shot up in incredulity as he finally caught on to what Naruto was thinking. "If I pass the Genin exams this year then I can legally be made Anko's guardian and she can stay with me?" Hiruzen finally sighed as he nodded slowly, only increasing the smile that spread across Naruto's features. "Then just you watch, I'll pass the exams, believe it!" Hiruzen tried to keep his mirth from showing as he stood up, walking towards the door with a smile.

"Very well, in the mean time I think it wouldn't be too much to allow Anko to stay with you, call it a trial run." Naruto was a little shocked and relieved at the Hokage's concession as he followed the older man to the door. "But be warned, if you don't pass the Genin exams the Anko will have to return to the Orphanage." Naruto just nodded with determination even as the Hokage left, leaving the two Shinobi in training with a lot of thoughts. Naruto returned to the kitchen where he found Anko, just staring at him with a mix of awe and gratitude.

"Why did you fight so hard for me? I mean why go out of your way just for me? It's not like I'd be disappearing. Aren't I just a lot of trouble?" Naruto only smiled kindly as he gently hugged the shocked girl, pulling away with a smile.

"You're my friend. And you want to stay, right?" He began to walk back outside to the training ground, not forgetting what the Hokage had interrupted with his visit. "Plus it would be way too quiet around here if you left." Anko smiled until she got the other meaning in Naruto's words as a playful scowl made its way onto her face.

"Hey!"

* * *

The months passed even more quickly after that, as Naruto really threw himself deep into an all-consuming regimen of training. He never forgot Anko though, making sure he always had time for his friends through his busy schedule. He mainly focused on Chakra control though, using every trick in the book for one reason; the clone technique. It was supposed to be the simplest jutsu in a Shinobi's arsenal, requiring literally the bare minimum of chakra to form; too little. He found that with the fox widening his chakra pathways every day, control became more and more difficult. Eventually, he struggled to lower his output to the required levels and eventually it became impossible.

He overloaded the clones he made and they came out sickly and useless. He just couldn't use that little chakra in his jutsu anymore, even with all the control exercises he went through. He sighed, knowing that all but the highest ranked Genjutsu would also be out of the realm of his learning and without working his way from basics the A-ranked ones would be impossible. Surprisingly, it was Anko who finally gave him a solution, of sorts; she was watching him train, trying again and again at producing a healthy clone.

She simply suggested that instead of using a small amount of chakra to produce one he should just mould a large amount of chakra and divide that to produce many clones at once. Naruto had stood stoically flabbergasted at the simplicity of the solution; asking if it was still Anko he was talking to. Or course, after earning himself a thrown rock to the head and a good laugh, Anko chased him around the training field. He put his hands into the correct sign, moulded the smallest amount of chakra he could before dividing it into the required amount.

Anko just watching in amazement as twenty, perfectly healthy and identical clones sprouted out of clouds of smoke, as did Naruto. He jumped in victory, finally having mastered each of the basic three jutsu he needed to pass the Genin exam. After that the rest of their academy year flew by and before any of them really realised it, it was already over. They all waited on the last day as the teacher ran through some boring speech about how proud he was and how they would go on to be the best class he had ever taught.

Finally he asked if there were any students who thought they could take the Genin test now, surprisingly only three people raised their hands, Naruto, Itachi and Shisui. Naruto turned, blinking in surprise as he looked at Anko, her arm not raised. She just smiled at him sadly, looking down at the desk as she fiddled with her hands.

"I never could quite get the henge down. I just don't think I'm ready yet." Naruto's eyes softened in understanding before hardening as the teacher asked them to come with him for their evaluation. He shot one last look at Anko as he joined Itachi and Shisui walking out of the room. She just gave him a thumbs up as he smirked, knowing that he had to do this.

Anko waited behind after class, sitting on a swing somebody had hung on a tree in the school grounds. She saw Itachi, then Shisui both emerge from the building holding their headbands. They smiled at her and waved before running off to tell their parents, happily tying their bands around their foreheads. She waited a bit longer before Naruto emerged, his face a mask of neutrality. She jumped off the railing and ran over as soon as she saw him, covering the distance in a flash.

"So did you do it?" She wasn't even sure why she doubted for a second as he smirked, a broad grin crossing his features as he pulled an arm from behind his back showing her his new forehead protector.

"Of course."

Anko grinned as she hugged him in congratulations, pulling him away from the school which earned her a confused look.

"Come on, we need to celebrate." She said excitedly. Naruto just smiled again as he allowed the girl to pull him away, but not before he tied his headband around his arm. He felt as though he had achieved the first part of his goal to surpass his father and make his parents proud.

* * *

Up on the roof of the academy two figures watched all of this, one with a beaming grin, the other with a more calculative smirk.

"Interesting crop this year, huh?"

Orochimaru turned to his teammate with a vaguely amused expression. "Are you saying that because of your godson?"

Jiraiya just smiled down at the scene of Anko pulling the slightly taller redhead away with her, a calm but happy smile on his features.

"How can I not be? Youngest to graduate the academy since the boy my student trained, Kakashi; even then it was only because of the war." Orochimaru just nodded along to his teammate, observing the young girl alongside the Namikaze.

"Yes, interesting crop, indeed."

* * *

Naruto arrived at the training ground he had been designated nice and early the next day. He had found it quite amusing when he found out he couldn't get drunk; they had found out when Anko had decided to take full advantage of the fact that Naruto was legally an adult. Anko surprisingly had taken to drinking quite well; Naruto also didn't mind the flavour of Sake, even if he couldn't experience the other effects. Anko on the other hand had no such luck so he left her groaning in her bed, sleeping off the effects of her first drink.

He greeted Itachi and Shisui pleasantly. They too had come early in order to meet their Jonin sensei. They were surprised then when a man suddenly melted out of the shadows of a nearby tree. He was roughly thirty years old with his dark hair tied back in a ponytail; his eyes had black markings around them making him look quite tired and he had the slight hint of a beard on his chin. Other than that he wore the standard Jonin outfit, if in slightly darker colours than usual, and bore the generally laid-back posture of most Nara clan members.

"Great, I finally take on a Genin squad and they send me a bunch of kids, how bothersome." He didn't pay attention to the tick mark that suddenly appeared over Naruto's head and the generally annoyed expression on Shisui's face. Itachi managed to stay quite calm as usual although inside he was slightly offended by the insinuation. "I'm Ensui Nara, your Jonin instructor if you pass my test." Naruto was a little surprised there was another test but he said nothing, allowing the Nara to explain.

"You're here because you managed to pass what you thought was the Genin exam, but I can send you straight back to the academy if I believe you don't have what it takes to be on a squad. It's all really quite bothersome but I'm overdue to have a team and you three are what I was left with." Again he got the same responses, Naruto getting agitated, Shisui getting annoyed and Itachi, well, he was Itachi. "Basically if you want to be Genin you have to land a hit on m-"

Before he could finish his sentence Naruto had shot forward in a blur of red forcing Ensui to suddenly duck back as the boy sailed over his head. The lazy Nara blinked in surprise before ducking to the side again to avoid a fast spinning kick. The boy's speeds were very impressive for a kid straight out of the academy, at seven no less, hell they were above average for a Chuunin. It made him wonder just how hard the kid trained.

Likewise he didn't get much more time to explain before Naruto suddenly dived out the way, revealing Shisui behind him, hands in a tiger seal. Ensui only had a moment to think before he had to dive out the way of an enormous fireball that would have burnt him to a crisp. Unfortunately that put him straight in the path of Itachi, Sharingan blazing as he quickly tried to intercept the man. Ensui easily batted the boy away and before anybody else could try anything he crouched with his hands in the rat seal.

Before any of the new Genin could do anything they were suddenly stuck in place; looking down they all saw their shadows linked to their Sensei's. As he stood up they all found they copied the action, settling into the man's natural slumping posture.

"Bothersome. At least you all have decent teamwork. However, like I was saying you need to land a hit on me..." He pulled out a stop clock from his pocket as the three seven year-olds copied the phantom action "... in one hour. If you do that then you are officially Genin of the Leaf." And with that the man promptly melted into the shadows, disappearing before the three were release from his possession technique.

They just stood there a moment, getting their bearing as they regrouped, nodding at one another as they knew what to do. They took off into the forest, moving in the direction they knew would be best to hide in. None of them were particular trackers but Naruto's ears were honed to the point where he could accurately tell the difference between animal and human footsteps. Using that he took the lead, listening out for any signs of their sensei. Shisui took the middle as he had the most powerful Jutsu in his arsenal, being able to create a larger fireball than Itachi. Itachi naturally took up the rear, using his Sharingan to make sure they didn't miss anything.

Eventually Naruto caught onto something, raising a hand to halt their small group on a branch. He looked at Itachi, who just nodded. Having also noticed the signs of somebody coming through here, his Sharingan picked up the minute details. They quickly formulated a plan as they slowly approached the clearing they were sure their sensei was hiding in. Shisui stood on a high branch looking down over the clearing as he began to mould his chakra, drawing in as deep a breath as he could muster.

Ensui simply hid behind a tree in the clearing, hoping the kids weren't good enough trackers to find him. That way he wouldn't have to take them as a team and he could just go back to lazing about and taking an ocassional bothersome mission when necessary. However, it quickly became evident that wasn't going to be the case as his eyes widened and he forced chakra into his feet. He managed to get up in time to avoid the massive fireball that obliterated the trees he had just been hiding in; leaving only scarred and charred, blackened earth behind.

He blinked dumbfoundedly in surprise before he had to suddenly dodge a fist that would have struck him straight in the face. He swivelled on his heel, staring straight into the one-tomoe Sharingan of Itachi as the young Uchiha narrowed his eyes. His attacks came fast but his counterattacks came even faster, it didn't particularly press the experienced Jounin as the boy was still just a Genin but it didn't leave him much room to think. Quickly the Uchiha was joined by his clansman, the two teaming up and covering the other's weaknesses.

This actually put the lazy Nara on edge, forcing him to think quickly to avoid the well-timed and almost choreographed moved that slowly forced him into the clearings, even if neither had actually landed a hit yet. He was so preoccupied with fighting the two of them and trying to prevent them from landing a blow that he almost forgot about the last member of the group. He could only look up in time to see Naruto falling from a high branch his fist cocked back for a blow.

Ensui suddenly grabbed Shisui, using the boy's lack of Sharingan to his advantage as he pulled on his arm, swinging the boy up and throwing him at the approaching Naruto. As if it had been planned all along and in a very impressive display of mid-air acrobatics, Shisui just reached out a hand, grabbing onto Naruto. The Uchiha twisted his body in the air, pulling Naruto down as he did so and only adding to the boy's already impressive speed.

Already caught off guard Ensui tried to twist out the way but Naruto just managed to clip the man's shoulder, earning them the hit they had been working for. He span, expecting another attack but quickly realised that the three Genin were just standing there, looking rather amused as Ensui sighed tiredly.

"Alright, alright! I'll give that you three are impressive to land a hit on me." He suddenly became very serious, more so than looked natural on a Nara's face. "You three are now Genin of the Leaf, fully-fledged Shinobi and legal adults and as such you are now expected to behave as such. You will report to the same training ground tomorrow at ten for missions, for now you have the rest of the day off." He relaxed again, returning to his slumping posture "Congratulations, even if it is incredibly bothersome."

The three newly minted Genin just smiled; they knew they were going to have fun with this.


	5. New mission

Itachi walked into Naruto's home to a rather unusual sight; the redhead was on his couch, reading through a scroll. That was normal enough, but it was the fact that Anko was kneeling on a footstool behind him, slowly running her hands through his spiky locks with a look of wonder on her face. Itachi watched for about a minute as Anko just kept running her hands through Naruto's hair, breaking apart the laws-of-physics-defying spikes only for them to reform as soon as her hand passed through.

"How the hell does it do that?" Itachi managed a smirk as he watched the amusing scene, Naruto finally looking up from his scroll at his teammate.

"Hey, Itachi." Itachi just nodded as Anko suddenly fell backwards off the stool in surprise, rubbing her head as she glared at the Uchiha.

"Damn, do you always have to be so freaking quiet?" Itachi just shrugged, he was a ninja; weren't they supposed to be quiet? Naruto chuckled at the scene, running his hands through his hair once to see if Anko had disturbed it much. They had been happily living together for over six months now, officially anyway, with Naruto as Anko's technical legal guardian. They thought it would be pretty strange if she started calling him dad and they didn't particularly feel like siblings so they mostly just left their relationship how it was.

"It's time for our mission. Ensui-sensei said he had something special planned for us today." Naruto just grinned as he got up, shrugging on his tracksuit jacket and sandals.

"See you guys later." Both boys just waved to Anko as they left, sighing slightly as they took to the rooftops to get to the Hokage's tower faster.

"Damn, I wish Ensui sensei would just teach us the Shunshin, it would make getting around a whole lot easier." Itachi just groaned as he picked up the pace causing Naruto to look at him strangely.

"Please don't mention that around Shisui, ever since he saw sensei perform that technique it's all he ever talks about. I swear the day he learns that jutsu is the day I will see somebody happier than when Anko cooked you ramen for your birthday." Naruto looked mock-offended but chuckled all the same; that had definitely been a very good day for Naruto.

"Please, like that could ever happen." Itachi just shrugged but mentally he had an image of Shisui practically bouncing around the village in joy. They reached the Hokage tower quickly despite lacking that basic Jonin travelling technique and hurried through the building where they met up with a slightly bored Shisui who had been waiting for them. He just smiled upon seeing them and the trio walked into the office where they greeted Ensui and the Hokage. A triple call of 'Hokage-sama' followed by polite nods to the Jonin filled the room before both seniors motioned for silence.

"So Ensui-sensei, you said you had a surprise for us." The older Nara just nodded slowly, not even bothering to move his face from its usual lazy frown.

"Yes, I have been talking with the Hokage about your past mission record and have negotiated you three going on a B-ranked mission." The three Genin just gaped in shock, except Itachi, of course, but inside he was no less surprised. All of a sudden, two loud cheers rang out through the room as Shisui and Naruto loudly high-fived one another. The Hokage and Ensui sweat-dropped at the action, possibly rethinking the decision after the slightly immature display. However he two quickly rectified it by turning and bowing to the Hokage quickly.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, Ensui-sensei." The older Shinobi just sighed, they might act slightly immature at times but looking back over their records they were undoubtedly qualified. Their missions had all gone without a hitch so far, even the more dangerous C-ranks they had been assigned. Each could easily be called a prodigy in their own right and that included Shisui who hadn't even unlocked his Sharingan yet.

"Alright you guys... Meet me at the gates in fifteen minutes. Make sure you pack for a long trip, we don't know how long this will take." After getting a round of nods from his student, Ensui vanished in his shadowy Shunshin, practically making Shisui drool over the technique. Itachi saw this and sighed before dragging his cousin away to pack for their trip. Naruto was also about to leave when he was stopped by the aging Hokage.

"Naruto, hold on a moment." Naruto paused on his way out, turning around to the Hokage curiously only to see a look of concern on the older man's features. "Be careful out there." Naruto's brow furrowed while the rest of his features remained perfectly neutral.

"Of course, Hokage-sama." With that he left, quietly leaving through the door to get his things from his house and to tell Anko about his mission. As soon as he left Sarutobi sank back in his chair, sighing deeply as he looked over at Minato's picture, the blonde's face staring right back. He shook his head again as he quickly returned to the stack of paperwork on his large desk.

Thanks to their Sensei's laziness it actually took about half an hour before they were leaving the village, but none of them complained. Already used to it after six months with the Nara, they let their fantasies on how a B-ranked mission might play out. The three Genin were conspicuously backpack-free. Ensui began to lecture them on being prepared, but Naruto had quickly interjected that he had made them all a few storage scrolls which were subtly hidden across their bodies. The redhead smirked at his teacher's pleased look before returning to keeping watch over the road that stretched out in front of them.

* * *

"...and Yoshino won't stop going on about her little son Shikamaru, really bothersome I tell you. Next thing you know and..." The man trailed off as he spoke with Shisui, his eyes furrowing as he glanced around at the trees surrounding the small Shinobi group.

"What is it, sensei?" Shisui had caught onto the man's pause but the Jonin recovered, his face returning to its normal apathetic tone.

"Nothing. I just thought-" he was cut off as a kunai suddenly shot out from the tree-line, only to be intercepted as Naruto dived with an incredible burst of speed. Without even looking he caught the flying knife mid-air, throwing it back on exactly the path it had come from. The encounter lasted less than a few seconds before they heard a thump from the forest. The group quickly jogged over to investigate and found a man lying still in a growing pool of his own blood.

Ensui tentatively prodded the man with his foot, flipping him over until they could plainly see the kunai sticking out of his chest, right where his heart was. Ensui looked the man over, immediately noting the Iwa headband the man wore as well as the rest of his Chuunin attire. That made Ensui grimace as he looked around, not many Chuunin were stupid enough to take on a full squad with a Jonin in. He suspected there might be more of them so he quickly ordered his team back onto the road.

"Good work Naruto."

The redhead merely nodded grimly, he didn't exactly enjoy the fact he had killed somebody, morbid thoughts bubbling to the surface.

"I think now might be a good time to explain the mission, sensei." The older Nara just shook his head as he carried on walking at a lazy, unconcerned pace.

"Not until we're somewhere I'm sure we won't be spied upon." The Genin all just nodded as each unnoticeably picked up their pace in the direction of the next village. None of them saw as the Chuunin they left dead out in the forest slowly melted into a puddle of mud. Soon after a much taller, larger man dropped down from the forest, noting the state of his previously henged mud clone with a smirk before taking off after the scent he picked up.

* * *

"Alright sensei! I think we should know the mission details now."

Ensui quickly did a scan of the small hotel room to make sure they weren't being listened in on before nodding.

"Right, right. We were sent out to protect an important client, a wealthy businessman by the name of Gato. He's beginning to set up business in this area of Fire country and has been getting harassed by other businessmen in the country." Naruto just frowned at this, sitting down on the bed as it squeaked loudly from old springs.

"That's sounds more like a C-rank to me." Ensui just nodded as he too took a seat; the lazy man was glad to be off his feet again.

"Normally you'd be right but recently the threats have been getting more serious with even Shinobi being mentioned. Gato paid for a B-rank so that's what it is." Itachi just nodded with a small smirk from where he had sat in an old, but still comfortable chair in the corner.

"I see, so this is really a C-ranked mission but you wish to add to our records with an easy B-rank." Ensui also smirked however briefly.

"Easy to figure out then? How bothersome." Shisui and Naruto just smiled, happy that at least the mission wouldn't be as hard as they had thought it might, even if they were excited about being on a B-rank. Recently Naruto had been feeling hollow in spars with the two Uchiha; sure Itachi could keep him on his toes and even win a few times but it lacked the danger that made fighting enjoyable for him.

"Hey sensei, do you mind if we go out and train for a bit?" Ensui just nodded as he sank back into the chair, pulling out a scroll to read through.

"Sure, sure. Just be back before dinner." The redhead nodded as he sent a quick glance at Itachi who nodded in reply. Quickly, the three Genin left the room. However, when Shisui rounded the corner of the hallway and he couldn't see Itachi or Naruto anywhere in sight, he instantly threw up his hands, his body tensing. Instantly on guard, he made his way through the rest of the hotel carefully, wondering where his teammates had run too. Soon, he was outside. Then, around the back of the hotel which just bordered a large forest.

He was about to call out to his friends but was forced to dodge a kunai that appeared out of nowhere. He ducked into a roll, missing the deadly knife by a few centimetres before standing up and looking around furtively. He turned to the sound of clapping only to watch as a man dropped out of the tree-line, still clapping. He was a little taller than the Uchiha wearing a typical Chuunin jumpsuit with scraggly brown hair and an Iwa headband.

"Impressive Konoha scum, I don't usually miss my targets." Shisui just scowled at the man as he quickly reached for his own pouch, only to realise he had left it in the room when his fingers closed around thin air. The Iwa Shinobi just grinned at this as he suddenly rushed forwards at an incredible speed. Shisui could only blink in surprise as he was there one minute and in front of him the next. Reacting only on instincts born from fighting Naruto for so long, he diverted a swift punch away from himself and tried to return it with one of his own.

However is attack only met air as the man swivelled around his body, cracking him in the back with a devastating kick that sent him reeling forward. Shisui tried to turn around to face his attacker again only to receive a quick but powerful blow to the back of his neck. The last thing he felt before passing out was his leg being picked up and his body being dragged across the ground in the direction of the forest.

* * *

"Interesting, I was sure your friends would be the first to wake, they put up a much better fight after all." Shisui blinked his eyes open painfully, trying to see anything in the dark that surrounded them in the forest. The words reached him, just, as he turned his head in the direction of the voice to come face to face with the man who had attacked him. His eyes widened and he trying to punch the man but his hands were tied behind him, as well as his feet.

"What are you talking about?" The man just laughed evilly as his eyes flickered to the left and right of his captive. Following his gaze Shisui saw that Naruto and Itachi were tied up next to him in similar positions, both unconscious. "What do you want with us?" The man just laughed again as he pulled a kunai out of his pouch, idly picking his nails with it. Shisui blinked in surprise before his eyes hardened angrily.

"What else? I'm from Iwa, you're from Konoha. I want you to pay for everything you did to us in the third Shinobi war." Shisui's eyes opened wider again as he struggled in his bindings.

"What are you talking about, Iwa started the war!" The man just snarled angrily as he swiftly kicked Shisui in the stomach, eliciting a small grunt of pain from the Genin.

"Filthy Konoha propaganda, it was your Hokage who declared he war in the first place, our Tsuchikage was merely defending out territories." He smirked evilly before he crouched down in front of the boy, their eyes coming together. "And now you will die for it." He quickly raised the kunai, the weak sun glinting off the well polished metal before he began to bring it down, almost lazily.

"Coward." The kunai halted in mid-air as the Chuunin stared at Shisui in annoyance.

"What did you call me?" Shisui just chuckled, not really seeing much else to do now that he could practically feel his own death coming.

"I called you a coward, killing your enemy when he's defenceless; tied up and unable to fight back." The man just smiled as he twirled the kunai once into a reverse grip.

"We're Shinobi, kid. Lying, stealing and cheating is what we do, just a fact of the gruesome world we live in." He quickly brought down the kunai again in one motion, no hesitance this time and Shisui clenched his eyes shut awaiting the pain that would come. When he didn't feel it he cracked a single eye open, only to feel the breeze on his now un-bound and slightly sore wrists. He quickly jumped to his feet, staring at the man who was happily twirling his kunai around.

"Fine kid, I was gonna make your death quick, but if you want to go down swinging I'm all for it." He grinned evilly again as he settled back into a strangely familiar stance with his kunai forward in a reverse grip. Shisui knew he should probably focus on finding away to get away with his teammates or at least wake them up but he felt a burning anger towards this Shinobi who had insulted his home and hurt his friends.

He raced forwards only to be tripped up as the Iwa-nin sidestepped his attack; the Uchiha wasn't fazed though, turning his stumble into an attack as he brought his arms around, trying to strike the man Once again he was dodged, this time the other Shinobi managed to twirl and neatly slice Shisui down his back, making it look like a dance. The Uchiha refused to cry out as he once again attacked, this time ducking low in order to get under the man's guard.

Once again it was in vain, he was simply backhanded in the face with a fair bit of force. Right now he just felt like the man was playing with him. he waved around Shisui's attacks with grace and speed, sometimes just making it back in time but dodging all the same. Eventually the man seemed to get bored and viciously kicked the Uchiha in the gut, launching him through the forest of a short collision with a large tree.

He groaned before looking up as the Iwa ninja walked closer, once again spinning his kunai in that irritating and cocky manner. Shisui only looked up in anger, unable to properly move his body to dodge or even get up. He could only watch as the Shinobi smirked once before raising his kunai up into the air. As he brought it down Shisui realised a simple fact, he was going to die. The exciting fear of agony pulsed through his veins, making his numb body come alive. He didn't want to leave his family or his friends; there was still so much he wanted to do with his life like learn the Shunshin and beat Naruto in a spar.

As he watched in horror he could have sworn the kunai slowed down as it arced through the air; like the air had turned to runny treacle. However he was still unable to move, unable to react in time to stop it's downwards descent. He scrunched his eyes shut and simply waited for the finishing blow, hoping it would be painless and quick. However when that didn't happen for another few moments he became confused.

"Did it work?" Shisui's eyes opened a crack and instead of seeing the Iwa-nin like he thought he would he instead saw a mop of red hair next to a more controlled mass of jet black hair.

"I don't know, he has his eyes closed." Shisui opened his eyes fully, looking up at Naruto and Itachi as they looked down at him with curiosity. After a moment of staring two smiles crept over their faces while Shisui just looked around for any sign of the Iwa ninja.

"Naruto? Itachi? What happened? Where's the Iwa ninja?" The two boys just shared a look a mutual amusement passed between them causing Shisui to get concerned. Itachi just shrugged as he leant against a tree and Naruto adopted the pose that everybody who knew him recognised from when he was embarrassed.

"Uhh, there never was an Iwa ninja." Shisui just looked up in confusion, finally getting to his feet despite his slightly aching muscles.

"What do you mean, I was fighting him and he had you two knocked out!" Naruto just chuckled nervously as Itachi smirked; obviously finding it funny Shisui believed he and Naruto would be knocked out by a single Chuunin.

"Uhh yeah, that was a Genjutsu; the person you were fighting was me." Shisui just paused for a moment as his gaze flickered between his two teammates, his eyes showing his obvious anger.

"What the hell?!" Naruto just chuckled nervously as he began to undo his headband as Shisui blinked in surprise, the conversation getting increasingly weird. Naruto handed him the band and Shisui looked at him oddly, however when his gaze travelled lower he looked down in amazement at the polished metal. Staring right back at him from his own reflection were a pair of two-tomoe Sharingan, glowing slightly in the darkening light.

"Woh, I have Sharingan!" Naruto just smiled; even Itachi managed to crack a small smile as he saw his cousin continue to look at his new eyes in amazement. Quickly though his head shot up and he lashed out at Naruto, the quick boy only just jumping back in time. Shisui watched again in amazement, marvelling at how much slower Naruto seemed to travel. It was still much too fast for him to effectively counter but it was still much better. His eyes gleamed slightly at the prospect of finally being able to fight with his teammates on equal terms.

"Congratulations." Shisui turned to Itachi, noting the small smile the normally more stoic Uchiha wore as he gently clasped his kin on the shoulder. Naruto did the same on his other shoulder, however a little more hesitantly after the boy's last outburst.

"You guys did this just so I could unlock my Sharingan?" His teammates nodded and Shisui smiled before wincing as he felt his side burn suddenly, one of his ribs probably broken.

"Yeah, we figured it was about time you caught up." They all laughed and bean to make their way back through the forest in the direction of the hotel. Shisui limped a little but they made it in good time, quickly emerging from the tree line into the dwindling sunlight that still managed to barely reach over the horizon.

"So that was a Genjutsu, it felt so real." Itachi just nodded, he was also feeling slightly winded from maintaining the powerful Genjutsu over Naruto for so long.

"I can tell you more about it when I start training you in your Sharingan." Shisui looked around, slightly surprised at his friend for a moment before Itachi clarified. "At least until you can have your own family train you." The other Uchiha nodded, wincing again as he held his side painfully.

"Did you have to go so hard Naruto?" The redhead merely chuckled as he slung an arm under his teammates shoulder, supporting him as they made their way through the hotel.

"Itachi told me I had to make it as real as possible so you really believed it was a life-threatening situation." Shisui just nodded with a sigh but not before he sent a glare Itachi's way. With his Sharingan activated it actually managed to look quite intimidating, not that it affected Itachi much. The rest of the way back to the room Shisui played about with his new Doujutsu, practising turning it on and off while smiling every time the world would slow around him slightly. Finally they made it back to the room where Ensui was lazily looking through a scroll; their entrance made him look up and notice Shisui's eyes.

"Oh, so it worked then, how bothersome." Shisui's eyes twitched violently as he sent an accusatory finger his sensei's way.

"You knew too?!" Ensui just sighed as he nodded, returning to his scroll languidly.

"Of course, I was the one who suggested it." Shisui's eye twitched again and he would have launched himself at his sensei if his side didn't suddenly flare out in pain. Ensui just looked up again with a sigh, the rings around his eyes making him look even more tired than his attitude would have you believe.

The jonin drawled, "So bothersome... Did you have to hurt him so badly? Now I'll have to get on my old, aching knees and heal him."

Naruto just shrugged sheepishly before carefully setting his teammate down on a chair and flopping down on his own bed. Ensui quickly got up, his hand already lighting up in green chakra as he began to heal the worst of Shisui's injury. He wasn't an expert in medical Ninjutsu but as a Jonin he was forced to know enough to heal fairly minor injuries like this.

Shisui watched the man go about his work, fascinated by the technique that was slowly resetting his ribs into their proper place. Unconsciously he activated his Sharingan and was amazed as he saw the chakra from the technique flow into his body. Intrinsically he began to understand how the whole process worked, how the medical Chakra vibrated at just the right frequency to encourage his own body's healing. He smiled brightly as the pain was leeched from his body, _'So this is what I've been missing out on? Well not anymore!'_

* * *

The group picked up the pace he next day, not wanting any other attacks like the one involving the Iwa Chuunin. As they hopped through the trees, Itachi was explaining to Shisui about his Sharingan and the abilities he now had. While Shisui had, of course, pretty much had this conversation with his parents before, it took on a whole new meaning. Now, he actually had the bloodline. He continued to play with it, activating it on and off with a goofy grin while Itachi would just sigh at seeing the prestigious Doujutsu reduced to a novelty.

Naruto listened in on their conversation, fascinated as he heard Itachi explain the intricacies of the Sharingan. He learned that the Uchiha have much better abilities concerning Genjutsu due to their ability to see the chakra they use. Able to visually understand genjutsu made them intimate with the ability to manipulate their enemies' senses. He also found out about the slight predictive abilities the eyes held, although that mostly came into effect with the evolution to the three tomoe state. However, Itachi hadn't activated that yet. He could only provide the explanation his own father had given him, verbatim. Nevertheless, Naruto was fascinated.

He knew from his father that even a fully matured Sharingan was far from perfect. Minato was said to be one of the few people actually fast enough to render the predictive ability useless. While a well trained Sharingan user could follow him with their eyes, their actual reflexes could do nothing to dodge or block him. It was one reason he had been well-respected by the clan. Naruto thought to himself slighty smugly as he hopped from branch to branch. One day he would be that fast. When Itachi finally matured to three tomoe, they would finally have the fight both had been waiting for.

He was brought out of his daydream as his eyes widened, catching a slight flicker in the periphery of his vision. On reflex alone, he suddenly stopped on the branch he landed on, using his hands to suddenly swing around and press his back up against it. Moments after, ten or so kunai impacted with the branch with dull thuds; some sailing over where his body would have been. Similar things happened with Itachi and Shisui but with their respective Sharingan they were able to see it in time and hurl themselves out the way. Ensui merely melted away into his shadow, the kunai harmlessly passing overhead.

Naruto sighed as he sprang back up onto his branch, already expecting it when a very large and muscular man dropped down some way out in front of the group. He wore black Shinobi pants and sandals as well as an Iwa headband and flak jacket but nothing else. His bulging, ripped upper body was clenching in intimidating display. He had many scars that dotted his chest and arms, a close-shaven shear of brown hair, and black void-like eyes that stared at the three Genin with dispassionate bloodlust.

"When I agreed to an assassination mission against that Gato guy I thought it would be boring..." his slightly scarred mouth twisted into a cruel smile "...then I see two Uchiha and I think my luck is turning around..." Finally he looked at Naruto, his grin turning into a snarl "...then I see the Yellow Flash's brat and that made me certain Kami was smiling on me." He chuckled darkly as he pulled out two kunai, letting the Konoha Genin watch in amazement as he dug them into the earth. When he pulled them out the two blades were coated with rock, forming two very long and sharp swords.

Naruto glanced around, checking for their sensei but he seemed to have conspicuously disappeared. He turned his attention back to their new opponent, noting the fact his flak jacket was that of a Jonin. As powerful as the three were together they didn't stand much of a chance against the man if he went full out. They simply had to hope he underestimated them; however the bloodthirsty gleam in his eye said very differently.

"Masi Kotechi, the stone bull of Iwa." It was Shisui talking and Naruto wasn't surprised considering his friend had practically memorised the bingo book as well as any notable ninja from other nations.

"Well what do you know, my reputation precedes me." Naruto gulped when he noticed the slightly nervous look Shisui had; that could only mean the guy was powerful.

"Watch out for his swords, he can manipulate them into any weapon." Masi just looked irritated as he glared at the Uchiha, pointing one of the stone blades his way.

"Don't ruin the surprise, it's rude, you should-" He was cut off as Naruto suddenly rushed forward in a red blur, intent on catching the man at a moment of distraction. Unfortunately for him the man as better than that and even Naruto's impressive speeds were more average for a Jonin of his calibre. He simply batted the redhead away with the flat of his sword, sending the Genin into a tree. Immediately after that he brought his two swords up, crossing them together as the stone merged into a large shield, blocking the massive fireball Shisui and Itachi had sent his way.

He chuckled as the stone morphed back onto blades, this time slightly curved like Scimitars. He used them to effortlessly parry the kick Naruto had sent him from behind, making the redhead's ankles throb in agony.

The man wielding the weighty stone blades like they were paper toyed with the genin, nullifying and perfectly anticipating their weak attacks. Naruto tried not to show his frustration as he continued to launch lightning fast strikes on the man, only to be parried by the flat of his blades ever time. Seemingly without effort, the jonin began to exhaust them.

It left Shisui and especially Itachi in slight awe of the Jonin, even he had trouble defending against Naruto when he was going all out like this. Suddenly the redhead backed off, flipping back to land on a tree where he quickly shrugged off arm and leg bands he had started wearing since the team had formed. He stretched out a moment, getting a feel for his muscles again after having them weighted down for a while. It was usually unwise for somebody to remove their weights in the middle of a fight but Naruto always made sure he kept them off at the weekends so he could better acclimatise his body to the changes.

Itachi and Shisui were left in even more amazement as Naruto seemingly disappeared from the branch. The only reason they were even still able to see him was their Sharingan; even then he was still pretty much a blur. Both of them were thinking along similar lines as they saw him once again launch himself at the Jonin _'He's been holding back this whole time?_' Naruto finally allowed himself to smirk; Masi was still blocking every one of his attacks but now he was visibly trying. He backed off again, panting slightly from the speed he had been moving at.

"Well, at least this confirms you really are that bastard's son, only a Namikaze could move that fast at your age." Naruto kept his emotions in check when the man insulted and praised his father in the same breath and simply turned his gaze to Shisui and Itachi. Getting the message the two of them leapt at the man; not being nearly as fast as Naruto Masi was easily able to fend off their attacks, however when Naruto rejoined the fray he suddenly found himself hard pressed.

Getting annoyed and bored the Iwa nin suddenly clasped his hands together, the two swords merging into one, much larger broadsword growing out like a jagged crystal. With a sweeping blow he managed to catch all three Genin in a move even Itachi and Shisui's Sharingan couldn't help them against. All three suddenly found their necks enveloped in a stone collar attached to the kunai in the man's hands. When they tried to move the collar would close slightly on their necks, suffocating them slowly.

"Impressive for Genin but in the end that's what you are, Genin." He was suddenly cut off as dark black threads pierced his body in multiple places, including his heart. He could only blink once in surprise before the stone collars crumbled to dust and he fell off the branch, dead before he hit the ground. All three Genin were left panting, rubbing their necks as their sensei suddenly revealed himself from the shadow of a nearby tree.

"You three did very well, especially against an opponent of Masi's standards." Shisui just glared at their sensei, still rubbing his sore neck as he struggled to get air into his lungs again.

"Where were you Sensei?!" Ensui just sighed as he poked Masi's dead body with his foot, this time actually checking to see if this was a clone or not.

"It was bothersome... So, I thought I would let you guys handle it. Turns out you needed my help in the end after all." Naruto and Itachi both frowned at this, suddenly feeling inadequate which the lazy, but perceptive Nara making them out to be incapable.

"Don't feel bad though. Iwa's stone bull was an opponent even I would have had difficulty with if you three hadn't provided an adequate distraction. You performed admirably and considering this man was an A-ranked Jonin it was impressive you lasted as long as you did." The two still didn't look convinced while Shisui still just seemed angry their sensei hadn't done anything until the last moment. Ensui just sighed as he began to move through the trees again, motioning for his team to do the same; murmuring under his breath about how bothersome it was to be a good teacher.


	6. New teachings

**A/N: I just wanted to say that as of last chapter the views... They're over 9000!**

* * *

Both Naruto and Shisui had to repress their laughter as they stared down at the remarkably short businessman standing in front of them. He was completely consumed in his conversation with Ensui. When the man had first opened the door of his rather luxurious apartment Naruto had thought it must have been somehow mechanically opened. It turned out Naruto was just looking straight over Gato's head. A fact that didn't seemed to have passed by the tiny businessman. Since then the man seemed to harbour an unspoken grudge towards the two Shinobi (minus Itachi, because he always seemed to disappear into the background whenever laughter emerged).

But to add insult to injury, even Shisui, the shortest of them, managed to stand a good few inches above the man, despite being less than half his age. It was all they could do to stop snickering every time he would shoot them a glare. To quote Naruto he said the 'If Anko were here she would be attempting to try that western sport involving kicking a ball around'. In honesty though that was the highlight of the remaining mission, otherwise it was lacklustre at best.

It turned out that after they defeated Masi the harassment attempts and hits on Gato's head just stopped all of a sudden. It swelled Shisui's ego for a while thinking that the assassins feared their team. At least it did until Itachi reminded him that they could merely be waiting for them to leave so they would have better chances. No matter what the reason the results were the same, the three of them became quickly bored. At least Naruto got off slightly easy, he had his scroll with him to jot down notes that struck him.

Even so, they still managed to squeeze in as much training as they could, using the opportunities when they weren't guarding Gato. Itachi was seriously impressed by the rate Shisui managed to pick up on the Sharingan techniques he began showing him. He had even remarked one day that because the way their fights were slowly turning it was like he had already unlocked the Doujutsu's predictive abilities. Naruto hadn't had a chance to spar with Shisui yet but when he did he would be sure to remind the Uchiha that he wasn't suddenly invincible.

Quickly though the time they were assigned to the mission came and went and before they knew it they were back on the road. Naruto had the pleasure of turning one last time to catch one of Gato's disdainful looks before returning his attention to the path ahead.

"I really hated that guy." He didn't need to turn to see the enthusiastic nod he got from Shisui or the slight smirk from Itachi.

"You shouldn't say those kinds of things about the client, it's far too bothersome to deal with the aftermath." Naruto just huffed, blowing air out between his teeth in irritation; it passed quickly.

"He's not the client anymore." Ensui just shrugged lazily before he suddenly jumped into the trees above them, the Genin quickly following.

"That's not to say he couldn't be in the future." Naruto just huffed again, unable to deny the man's lazy logic yet still annoyed by it all the same. He checked around them as they sprinted through the tree branches, looking for any sign of an ambush like the one at the start of their mission. In honesty he kind of missed it; that had been the first real opportunity they had to prove themselves and he wanted to feel that rush again.

He noticed Shisui running next to him, Sharingan active as it had been ever since he had acquired them. At first Itachi had warned him that it would simply waste his chakra, however, after Naruto had pointed out that it could almost work like a passive Chakra control exercise he too had taken to keeping his Doujutsu frequently active. That wasn't to say it was indefinite, even for an Uchiha their eyes were taxing on their chakra systems. Even so, the Uchiha prodigy had definitely noticed a slight rise in both his already considerable control and hearty fortitude.

It was another reason Naruto was anxious to get back to Konoha, he didn't like his teammates suddenly having this edge over him. He needed to get back and start training seriously again, his speed and chakra control among the priorities. He smirked as he sprinted; he knew exactly the jutsu that could help him with that as well as kill two birds with one stone. He had been putting off going through his father's things for long enough.

* * *

"Well that was boring as hell." All he got were two nods of agreement from his teammates, surprising him as he saw Itachi actually agreeing that something was boring.

"Yeah, I wonder if all mission reports are like that." Naruto just shrugged, honestly he wasn't sure what he had been expecting; a smirk suddenly crossed his face.

"Then again it might have been worth it to see the look on the old man's face when Ensui-sensei told him we faced Iwa's Stone Bull." Shisui laughed at that and even Itachi smirked, Sarutobi had almost lost his pipe when he heard that and was unable to stop staring at the three Genin in surprise for the rest of the meeting.

"Must you call Hokage-sama something so disrespectful? I would have thought your own father having been Hokage would make you more inclined to respect the position." Naruto just chuckled as they walked down the streets, enjoying being back after a few weeks.

"I have the highest respects for the position, but for me respect in a person is earned, not given." Itachi raised an eyebrow at this but didn't break stride as they continued to move towards the Uchiha compound and by slight extension the Namikaze household.

"And his defending the village through the second and third Shinobi wars, as well as his aid in defeating the Kyuubi on top of his years of service to the village are not grounds for respect?" Naruto just gave Itachi a blank look before looking ahead and walking a little faster. Itachi glanced at Shisui but his fellow Uchiha just shrugged, not knowing what had Naruto so touchy all of a sudden.

"Naruto, the Leaf is our home and Hokage-sama is our leader." Naruto turned on Shisui swiftly, an anger and betrayal in his eyes that they had never seen in him before.

"And where was he when my parents died?! Where was he when I went home to an empty house where I knew I would never see them again?!" Shisui could only blink in surprise as he took a step back, not expecting the outburst; a few civilians even stopped to look at them. Itachi went to put a hand on his friends shoulder but the redhead shrugged off the contact. "Six months! It took him six months after their funeral for him to visit me! I know he's busy, but six months!" Itachi just looked lost, unable to speak because he didn't know what to say.

Naruto just breathed heavily for a few moments before turning on a heel and sprinting away, leaving the two Uchiha speechless in the middle of the street. He raced back through the village, moving towards the one place where he could think clearly, where his mind didn't become one big angry blur. He vaulted the walls of his home in one bound, dashing around the side of the house until he was able to stop and stand still out in the training ground.

He looked down at the reflection of himself in the small pond, watching as the wind gently disturbed the image that stared back at him. He collapsed to his knees, eyes still locked on the water until a single drop disturbed the pond, rippling the image until he couldn't see himself anymore. He wiped away the other tear that was just about to fall, stifling a sob as he angrily punched the water, turning away from it harshly to lie back on the grass, just staring up at the sky, lost in his thoughts.

* * *

Time moved on and Naruto apologised to his friends, he knew he shouldn't have lashed out like that but he was bottling up his emotions unhealthily. They of course forgave him, after very little thought, but to say their eyes hadn't been opened slightly would have been an injustice. To Shisui, Naruto had always been a pillar of strength; before he came along he was always known as the other Uchiha, the one that wasn't Itachi. Of course he held no resentment towards his cousin but it was lonely when everybody else only paid attention to the 'prodigy'.

To see Naruto, somebody who worked hard for what he wanted and achieved it, without any kind of Kekkei Genkai or Doujutsu, it made him hope. He was the calm one, the one who kept his head but still found the time to have fun and enjoy life. To see him lose it like that, it cracked the image the aspiring Uchiha had of his friend. In the same way thought helped their friendship; when Shisui stopped seeing Naruto as some kind of goal to strive for and instead saw a person with emotions and limits. He found it easier to smile and speak softly with Naruto, after those thoughts.

For Itachi, his body clenched painfully in silence; while both he and Naruto would call each other friends, he knew it was a loose term at best. They were sparring partners, rivals, people who used each other to improve themselves. He never went over to talk; never saw a purpose to that. He never specifically considered Naruto for something other than a mechanism for training. In a way, Itachi envied his cousin. Shisui and Naruto were friends; that much anybody could admit. When he witnessed how wrenched Naruto felt about feeling abandoned by the Third (and perhaps by his parents), he realised that something would need to change.

Over time after that incident the three only managed to grow closer, Itachi began to try more, acting like a friend instead of an acquaintance. Shisui and Naruto were already close, frequently spending time together. But afterward, each practically lived in the other's house. There would always be a place set for Naruto in Shisui's home and a bed ready for Shisui in Naruto's. They continued to do missions, always excelling and getting noted for their impeccable teamwork and innovation in tight situations. In the six months after that both Shisui and Itachi managed to reach the final stage of their Sharingan, the youngest in recorded Uchiha history since Madara Uchiha.

Anko, well... she was Anko. If there was something in Naruto's life he could count on to always be there and never change, it was her. She was like an immovable rock. When she had heard about the way he had erupted at his friends she had forced him to go straight over and apologise, after squeezing him to death for about five minutes of course. It had led to an amusing conversation regarding who exactly was the guardian in their relationship, needless to say it didn't end well for Naruto and he ended up in the Uchiha district with an aching side.

It turned out that during his absence on the mission Anko had practically thrown herself into her studies and training, easily becoming the top Shinobi in her class. Naruto couldn't wipe the grin off his face when he heard that, but there was a lot of teasing about her having nothing else to do without him around. It was amusing because of the shade of red her face had turned when she couldn't think of a suitable comeback or answer.

Six months later and nothing had changed; Anko was still flying through the academy with distinction, although she did have Naruto helping her whenever he could between missions. It turned out that after their first successful B-ranked mission, it had opened the floodgates. After a while they even began to be specifically requested by clients; although some were sceptical when they actually showed up due to their age. The team wasn't complaining though, the missions paid well and usually the most they had to deal with was the occasional errant A-rank missing-nin.

In essence, life was good! Everybody in their close-knit group was never bored, never abandoned to themselves. Naruto and Anko's frenetic antics were enough to keep Shisui entertained while Itachi found pleasure in training and carrying out his missions. Sometimes Naruto believed he believed too heavily in the ideals of the village and not enough in his own but he couldn't really do much about it. Despite not being open with it Itachi could almost prove to be as stubborn as an Uzumaki; whether you could take that as a compliment or not was debatable however.

Finally, time had passed quickly enough that Naruto found himself lazily, yet nervously sitting on the couch in his home. He was trying to flick through a scroll of intermediate sealing but his mind really wasn't focused on the paper in his hands. Instead his gaze kept flickering between it and the door, anxiously awaiting Anko to walk through. She had passed her Genin exam a few days ago, the only one in her class to do so even though others had tried.

That worried Naruto, thinking she might be placed with an older group of Genin who would no doubt belittle or under-appreciate her because of her age. Right now she was in the academy with the rest of the Genin who had passed this year, all likely waiting for their Jounin Sensei to arrive, or already having met them. He desperately wanted to know who she got; it would more than likely define the Kunoichi she became in the future, even with his own influence in her training. They say there was always at least one student who took after their sensei; in their group at least it was Shisui.

Just as he was about to get up and move outside to train and calm his nerves he heard the front door open. He swivelled on a dime and immediately walked over to the hall where he watched a grinning Anko practically bounce through the door. The sight brought a smile to his face; the Jounin instructor must have been a good one for her to be so happy.

"So I take it by your smile it went well?" Anko just beamed as she skipped towards him, actually skipped; it was enough to make him double-take. Anko wasn't particularly girly so to see her acting this way was...weird to say the least.

"Better than well; awesome!" The redhead just raised an eyebrow, chuckling as he followed the euphoric girl back through the house to where she simply flopped down on the couch with a satisfied smile.

"So who did you get?" Anko's happy smile quickly morphed into a very mischievous and somewhat smug grin as she turned and stared him right in the eyes.

"Oh nobody..." She turned disinterestedly and began to pick at her fingernails with a kunai, a habit Naruto had no idea how she picked up because it wasn't from him "...just, you know, Orochimaru of the Sannin." She said it with such nonchalance that it actually took a moment for Naruto to register what she had said.

"Orochimaru? As in the teammate of Jiraiya, the guy who trained my father?" Anko just nodded happily, yet again with that same slightly smug look on her features.

"The one and only, and not only that but he took me on as an apprentice!" Naruto blinked in surprise; he wasn't doubting Anko's abilities of course, or Orochimaru's judgement; in fact Anko was an astounding Kunoichi already. There was the fact that it was almost unheard of for somebody to take such a young apprentice; at that age it was usually difficult to predict the kind of ninja the student would become. Even so that didn't stop the smile that spread across Naruto's face as he pulled Anko into a somewhat unexpected hug.

"Congratulations!" Anko was shocked for only a brief moment before she accepted the hug, smiling happily into Naruto's shoulder until he broke away.

"Thanks, I already know it's gonna be awesome, he's going to teach me so many cool jutsu, maybe I'll even get a summoning contract!" Naruto grinned again; getting a contract was one of the greatest honours bestowed on a Shinobi, usually passed down from parent to child or sensei to student. His own father had inherited the toad contract from Jiraiya as Anko would no doubt receive the snake contract from Orochimaru.

"Well I think we should celebrate!" Anko initially looked happy at that thought but her face suddenly took on a slightly green tinge as she remembered the last time the two had 'celebrated'. She now knew that alcohol, no matter how delicious, would have to wait until she was older and it wouldn't incapacitate her for an entire day.

"Alright, how about visiting that new restaurant that opened up, the Dango place." Naruto just nodded happily, already getting up and pulling on his tracksuit top; today was Anko's day and they would do whatever she wanted to do. As they left Anko was wondering how dango tasted, never having had the pleasure of tasting the sweet dumplings; ironic considering her namesake. She just shrugged; she would find out soon anyway.

* * *

Naruto just watched on in a subtle mix between horror, fascination and jealousy; it turned out that Anko liked Dango. By 'liked' Naruto meant that Anko had taken to the sweet delicious dumplings like fish do to water or birds to air or he did to ramen. It was both disgusting and hypnotising to watch her shovel down the food, sliding the treats off the skewers sometimes in one bite. It was just something to try and imagine where she was putting it all, as far as he could tell she didn't even appear to be slowing down after the fifth plate.

He had to admit the dumplings were pretty delicious, not as much so as ramen but they would probably constitute his favourite dessert from now on. However when he reached for his own Anko would merely slap his hands away before picking up the skewer, despite having more in her own hands. In the end, just to get any food at all, he had to resort to using his speed to quickly steal the dango from the ravenous girl as quickly as possible.

Finally, although it seemed like it would never end, Anko sat lazily back in her chair with contented, lidded eyes as she gently swayed and allowed her delicious meal to settle. He smile matched her body language, relaxed and content; it at least let Naruto know what to get Anko if she was ever in a mood again, the sweet dumplings were better than drugs. Suddenly the girl shot forward in her chair, sitting bolt upright as her eyes became fixed on something at the door to the small Dango bar.

Naruto turned only to see a tall man with long black hair wearing the standard Jounin garb, the navy jumpsuit with the olive flak jacket. He walked confidently and seemed to hold an aura of power about himself while his yellow eyes showed experience and intelligence. Of course Naruto immediately knew who it was; his team's fight with Hanzo of the Salamanders was legendary after all.

"Orochimaru-sensei!" Well at least that confirmed it; the older man took note of the excitable purple-haired girl waving to him and smiled warmly. His smirk held a little bit of a calculative edge but otherwise he appeared friendly and kind, if a bit distant and aloof.

"Ahh, Anko-chan, surprise seeing you here, so soon after we meet nonetheless." Anko just grinned happily as she motioned between Naruto and her new sensei.

"Naruto, this is Orochimaru-sensei and..." She would have continued if Orochimaru hadn't placed a hand on her shoulder.

"No need child, I know of Namikaze-kun already; how could I not know of our dear, departed Hokage's son?" Naruto blinked a moment, confused when he thought he heard a hint of bitterness when the man mentioned his father but quickly shrugged it off as his ears playing tricks. He held out a hand which Orochimaru took, only a slight hint of hesitance to substantiate Naruto's previous confusion.

"Nice to meet you Sannin-san." Orochimaru just smiled, the edges of his lips turning up.

"So formal, like your father." This time there was nothing, the snake-like man kept his voice perfectly level, although his handshake was rather tight. Anko didn't seem to notice the tension between the two, only happy that her best friend and soon-to-be mentor were getting along.

"We need more Dango!" Naruto groaned while Orochimaru just seemed amused; he had certainly chosen an interesting apprentice.

* * *

Anko was outside working on a jutsu her sensei had instructed her to learn, except the only problem was she was finding it incredibly difficult. Surprisingly Naruto was no help; the Redhead had been very mysterious over the last few days. Whenever she would ask him to train he would simply reply he was busy before returning to his father's study. She had tried to get in and see what it was he was so enraptured with but it was nearly impossible to sneak up on the boy, at least for her.

She focused on her technique again, moulding the chakra Orochimaru had said was required as she tried to unconsciously tap into the summoning contract. Slowly she went through the hand seals; her sensei had told her that if she kept at it she would do it without them but for now this would do. She built up the chakra before sticking out both her arms, letting her new long sleeve shirt hang loosely from her wrists.

"Hidden shadow Snake hands!" She gritted her teeth before miraculously a single long green snake slithered from her wrist, building its body from the chakra she provided. She sighed when it dispelled; she was still unable to maintain the chakra required to use it effectively but at least it was a start. She nearly flopped to the floor out of exhaustion but caught herself on a training post, managing to move her body back towards the house to see if Naruto wanted anything to eat. However as soon as she crossed the threshold of the house she heard what sounded like a slight buzzing come from upstairs like swirling wind.

"YES!" Anko just raised an eyebrow as she turned her head upwards towards where she heard the cry. With a tired sigh she half-dragged herself up the stairs and walked over to the old Hokage's study. Tentatively she pushed open the door, surprised when it actually opened; Naruto had usually kept it locked when he was working on his secret project. Oddly the room was empty save for a scroll on the desk with complex notes and diagrams as well as what appeared to be balloons and rubber balls dotted around the room, all burst.

Suddenly she heard that same strange sound and made her way over to the window to look out over the training field out back. Naruto was outside, the redhead apparently staring at his right hand in intense concentration. To the young girl's amazement chakra began to swirl hypnotically around his palm, seemingly drawn out of the air itself. Finally, it coalesced into a perfect sphere, just larger than Naruto's hand, which pulsed almost excitedly with blue swirling energy.

If Anko had been amazed by that simple display what came next practically had her on the floor out of shock. Naruto charged at a nearby tree, slamming the ball of what seemed like pure unbridled energy into the trunk. Instead of stopping or fading away, the sphere just kept going, sheering through the tree like it was butter. Finally Naruto pushed it all the way through, watching with a satisfied smile as the large tree simply toppled over, it's support now weakened.

He spotted the purple blur out of the corner of his eye, side-stepping as she raced passed; she was suddenly full of energy. She excitedly looked at the remains of the tree, now just a haphazard stump in the ground, before turning back to Naruto with a look of pure amazement.

"What was that!?" Naruto just smiled sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head, noting the slight tingle in his right hand that let him know the technique wasn't quite perfect yet.

"That was what I've been working on recently." When it looked like Anko wasn't going to be satisfied with that answer he sighed and continued "It's a Jutsu my father created as a compliment to his fighting style, basically just high tier chakra control." Anko just blinked at the very humble way Naruto described the incredible technique he had just displayed. After seeing what it did to a fully grown tree she could only imagine what kind of damage it could do to an opponent.

"Chakra control?" Naruto just nodded as he held out his right hand, palm upwards, just slightly cupping his fingers. Quicker than before the Rasengan formed, once again pulsing brilliantly with blue light as the energies contained within Naruto's palm tried to break free of their spherical prison.

"It's pure shape manipulation; according to the scrolls he based it off of some kind of attack used by Biju, scaled down of course." He suddenly looked down, slightly sadly as Anko noticed, staring wistfully at the large ball of Chakra. "It's unfinished though." Anko raised an eyebrow while simultaneously scoffing; from what she had seen that attack was anything but unfinished. She couldn't imagine what the proper version would look like or even do.

"In the scrolls it said he always wanted to add his elemental affinity into it but between the war and becoming Hokage he never found the chance." He sighed again before a small smile worked its way onto his now rather apparently tired features. "But that's why I'm going to do it for him; I'll add my elemental affinity and make him proud." Anko smiled at that, unable to avoid being caught up in his infectious confidence that spilled out like waves.

"So what's it called?" Naruto grinned as he slammed the sphere of energy through another tree.

"Rasengan." Anko just stared at the newly disfigured tree or a moment with what can only be described as awe before grinning right back.

"Oh, you are so teaching me that!"

* * *

The next month passed in a blur of training for everybody; aside from missions the two Uchiha stayed in their compound a lot, apparently both being trained in the Sharingan. Apparently it was some kind of tradition for when an Uchiha reached the three-tomoe state, however it had never happened at such a young age. Naruto missed Shisui's company but he had plenty to keep himself occupied in the meantime and he knew they would all come back stronger for it.

He continued to work on the Rasengan, experimenting with making it bigger or more concentrated. He knew elemental manipulation was a bit out of his league at the moment, only recently getting to grips with his wind affinity to even begin to attempt it. Instead he trained his speed as usual as well as trying to teach Anko the Rasengan. Strangely the girl didn't seem to take to it, apparently finding the concept of moulding her chakra into something visible hard to wrap her head around.

When Naruto had asked the Hokage about this during one of his infrequent visits he had simply replied it had been the same when Minato had tried to teach his own students. Apparently, the technique in itself wasn't all that difficult to achieve, it was just so alien an idea to most that they couldn't wrap their heads around it. Even Sarutobi had to admit that Minato's self-created jutsu was far beyond even him, he was too set in his old, structured ways. However it appeared that one of his father's students had managed to create their own jutsu based off his father's, apparently making it quite famous, the Raikiri.

That wasn't to say Anko had nothing to keep her occupied, Orochimaru turned out to be quite the intensive sensei. As soon as she would master a technique he would give her it would be straight onto the next one. He also proved to be very attentive, always willing to help out Anko as long as it was only to adjust what she was doing. Apparently he praised natural talent, enjoying those that could take a concept and flesh it out on their own without assistance. To be fair, it showed commitment, ingenuity and creativity; all good qualities in a Shinobi.

Naruto often watched the two of them during his own training, at least when Orochimaru actually supervised Anko's training in the Namikaze training ground. When the man had first seen Naruto use the Rasengan, obliterating a training dummy in the process, he had first been stunned. He had quickly recovered, congratulating the redhead on mastering such a difficult jutsu that he, begrudgingly, admitted he could not re-create.

Naruto found the man's company to be pleasant; he was incredibly interesting to listen to and he had many stories from his time as part of the Sannin, at least when they were a team. While he sometimes came off as slightly arrogant, when his reputation was brought into question it was actually understandable. He had once jokingly suggested a spar between the two of them; needless to say he dominated the fight from start to finish. At least Naruto learnt that day that Orochimaru wasn't the kind to pull a punch, or in his case, a snake.

The man was like wind when Naruto wanted to hit him and, despite all the advancements he had made in the area, his speed was nothing compared to the Sannin. His body still burned a little from the toxins the man kept pumping him with with various snake bites. All his attacks would come out of nowhere, all in unconventional means like through the ground or once even out of a tree. In all Naruto could plainly see that he was outclassed hopelessly and, without somehow injecting years of training in the forthcoming months, that wasn't going to change any time soon.

Anko also showed marked improvement under his tutelage, mastering Jutsu after Jutsu, including some unique to the Sannin himself. He had allowed her to sign the snake summoning contract which had involved a frightful experience with Manda, the boss summon, that would be ingrained into Naruto's memory for quite some time. The two of them would be starting missions soon which lowered Naruto's spirits slightly, knowing that they would only see less of one another in the next few years. Still, it only meant that he had to make the time he had no count all the more.


	7. New challenges

"Chuunin exams?" Naruto looked down at the consent form in his hands, his eyebrow quirked up high as his gaze flickered between it and his sensei.

"That's right, it's bothersome, but if you agree I can sign you up for the upcoming Chuunin exams." Naruto just continued to look incredulous, a sentiment mirrored by his teammates.

"What gives? I thought you said that we were bound to get a field promotion to Chuunin soon anyway?" Ensui just shrugged lazily, already looking like he just wanted to leave and laze under the clouds.

"Hokage-sama believed it would be a good idea to enter you three anyway. The Chuunin exams are supposed to show the power behind a certain village. What better way to express that than having our youngest and most accomplished Genin participate? More so if you win." Shisui just snorted as he put the form in his pocket.

"You mean when we win." Itachi smirked at that; Shisui had every reason to be cocky. Three years into their Genin careers and the team had already completed more B-ranked missions than many Chuunin. Ensui just sighed, already starting to walk away from the group towards the Nara clan compound.

"In any case, if you want to enter, just sign the consent forms and be at the academy at ten tomorrow." With that the lazy Jounin walked off, leaving the three Genin alone to ponder his offer.

"So what do you guys think?" It was Naruto who asked. In the last two years he had grown considerably, now standing a respectable four foot ten inches for a nine-year old. His long, spiky red hair hung around his head in what most described as a 'mop', covering his eyes to a degree due to his forehead protector being around his bicep. He continued to wear his father's old tracksuit jacket only now he kept it open revealing the fishnet shirt underneath. He also wore baggy black pants tucked into his dark boot-like sandals.

He wasn't the only one to have grown. Itachi now stood level with him, unlike Shisui who was just slightly shorter. He now let his long dark hair cinch into a small pony tail with two straight bangs framing each side of his face. A high-collared black shirt of the Uchiha clutched his narrow frame, grey three-quarter length pants and black sandals completing the attire. Nowadays, it was a rare-sight to see the stoic Uchiha without his Sharingan activated, having garnered the ability to keep it visible all day. He had also taken to keeping a tanto slung over his shoulder, managing to cast an intimidating sight for one so young.

Shisui was probably the one who had changed the least. While he too kept his Sharingan activated most of the time, he lacked the serious edge to his features that Itachi managed, face smooth where Itachi bore slight wrinkles. He wore a high-collared light grey vest open at the front to reveal his dark grey shirt and tan belt. Below that, he wore standard navy Shinobi pants tied around his shins with tape and dark grey standard sandals. However, beneath his unassuming appearance he was an opponent to be reckoned with, sometimes surprising his teammates with his ingenuity to win a fight.

Basic analysis of the their team's composition would reveal that Naruto was the speedy powerhouse of the group, Itachi the calculating tactician and swift support while Shisui was the wildcard, rapidly adapting and redefining his role. It was true the aspiring Uchiha had dabbled in nearly every area of Ninja studies and found something he liked from each. His Taijutsu was something even Naruto found hard to counter and his Genjutsu, while not the match of Itachi, still gave him an edge in a fight and his Ninjutsu were always so unpredictable it was like trying to fight multiple opponents.

"I think we're going to kick some Genin ass." Both of Shisui's teammates smirked at that before each disappeared to go home. Shisui vanished in a flicker of motion, Itachi dissolved into crows and Naruto just disappeared.

* * *

Anko was out training. At least, if sparring with Orochimaru could count as training. It involved her pulling out every trick in her arsenal just to not get thrown around the training ground; more a game of survival than true practice. Currently, both of them had snakes protruding out of their sleeves, the scaly creatures fighting for dominance, a fight Orochimaru was winning. Suddenly, Anko was caught unawares as Orochimaru's tongue suddenly shot out of his mouth, wrapping around her neck in one motion and throwing her harshly across the field. She landed ready to keep fighting but her sensei just chuckled.

"That's enough for today Anko-chan. You've been training hard recently and you should take a break." Anko just nodded with a smile, desperately trying not to show just how exhausted she was from their long fight. She failed miserably; sweat was soaking her forehead and clothes as she was panting for breath. Quickly she walked back inside the house through the sliding door and nearly collapsed on a chair in the kitchen. She didn't because at that moment Naruto seemingly appeared in the room, still looking down at the consent form.

Like Shisui, Anko hadn't changed all that much, she was taller than two years ago, standing a little under Shisui in height. She still wore that same style of clothing, just a plain dark navy t-shirt, as well as beige shorts that went down to her mid-thigh. However, she'd also grown attached to wearing long fishnet stockings above her blue sandals and proudly displaying a snake-tooth necklace her sensei had given her as a present.

"Hey Fishcake, what's that?" Naruto looked up in surprise, not expecting anybody to be in the kitchen when he had Shunshin'd in, appearing in a red blur.

"Oh this? It's a consent form for the Chuunin exams." Her interest suddenly piqued Anko moved around, peering over the redheads shoulder at the slip of paper.

"Chuunin exams?" Naruto just nodded lamely as he put the form down on the counter.

"Yeah, Ensui-sensei asked us to enter. Something about showing off our villages strength through us." Anko just huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance.

"Lucky you! Orochimaru-sensei won't let me enter the exams until next year." Naruto looked up, ignoring the form for the moment as Anko sat in his lap on the chair. It was something she had used to do to get a rise out of him, nowadays she just did it naturally because they were both used to it.

"Why not?" Anko just shrugged as she leaned back on his chest, stretching slightly to alleviate some aches that had worked their way into her muscles during training.

"Hell if I know! Sensei can be pretty mysterious sometimes. He says I can enter after some kind of training trip he has planned for me." Naruto also leaned back in the chair, adjusting as Anko got comfortable which meant grinding into his lap without meaning to.

"Training trip?" Anko finally perked up as she nodded enthusiastically, turning with a smile on her face.

"Yeah. He's going to take me all over the elemental nations for half a year so I can learn all kinds of new things!" Naruto just smiled as well, wrapping his arms around his friend in a light hug which she would have returned if she wasn't facing the wrong way.

"Congratulations, that's great. When do you go?" Anko's smile flipped to a frown as she entered what Naruto had dubbed her 'cute concentration pose' with her tongue sticking out the corner of her mouth.

"Ummm... I guess not too long after the Chuunin exams, maybe a week or two?" Naruto ensnared her into a tight embrace her again before gently sliding the girl off his lap so he could stand up.

"Cool. Well... make sure you come back stronger and maybe you'll actually land a hit on me in our spars!" Anko growled playfully as she swung at him, only for the redhead to duck far below the punch and disappear in a flash of red.

"Nice try Anko. Better luck next time!" Anko's lips thinned, drooping into a grimace, before Orochimaru called out to her and she raced back outside. Before she did though she took another look at the slip of paper on the counter and sighed. _'Things are moving so fast, don't worry Naruto. I'll catch up to you any way I can!'_

* * *

"So why do you think we have to go to the academy?" As always it was Shisui who tried to strike up conversation in their small group as the three Genin made their way towards the Shinobi academy.

"Maybe there is a written test?" Itachi, always the voice of reason amongst the group wasn't all too concerned if that was the case.

"Nah, what the hell does a written test have to do with being a Chuunin?" Naruto on the other hand was slightly more dismissive of the whole thing, acting far more relaxed than he normally was. However to the two Uchiha's trained eyes they noticed it was slightly strained which was unusual for the normally overly calm Naruto. Itachi just sighed, knowing why he was acting this way; in Naruto's mind this was next major stepping stone in his ninja life. This would make him one step closer to overcoming his father like he had promised; he was most likely quite nervous.

"I would not be so quick to dismiss a written test or anything that happens in these exams. Have you forgotten what Ensui-sensei told us?" Naruto sighed low in annoyance as he increased the pace, obviously rather anxious just to get to the academy, his steps wider and his gait uneven.

"Yeah yeah! Look beneath the underneath, my dad had the same mantra." Itachi just nodded curtly, satisfied his teammate would at least treat the exams seriously, no matter what they were.

"Uhh, you don't think it's like practise for when we have to do mission reports do you?" Both Naruto and Itachi stopped, staring at their teammate incredulously before blinking and carrying on.

"Kami I hope not." For some reason just the thought of paperwork sent a small shiver up all three of their spines. Finally they reached the academy, walking up the stairs to the third floor, not even bothering to glance at a rather poor Genjutsu cast over a second floor sign. Finally they stopped in front of classroom 303, not even fazed when Ensui melted out of a nearby shadow.

"You actually decided to come? And here I thought I was going to have a botherless week." None of them even looked at the man, already far too used to his attitude to care anymore. "Well, at least you three came together, not that I really thought one wouldn't." Shisui raised an eyebrow at this, looking at their sensei strangely.

"And what would have happened if one of us decided not to take part?" Ensui just smiled lazily, reminding Naruto of a silver-haired ANBU he had seen once when the man was supporting them on a mission and had taken off his dog mask.

"Then the other two wouldn't have been allowed to participate, the Chuunin exams are a team event. How else are you supposed to show teamwork and leadership?" The three Genin could only nod at the logic before Ensui patted them each on the back. "Now get in there, I want you all to become Chuunin." Even Itachi couldn't help the smile that managed to find its way onto his face "being your sensei is far too bothersome" only to be immediately be replaced by a frown.

They scowled at their sensei who just uncharacteristically chuckled and melted back into the shadows. They walked into the class, ignoring most of the other Genin assembled as they all stared at the newcomers. Many just seemed to be surprised by their ages, definitely being the youngest group there by a good few years. Others seemed to think it was some kind of joke and Naruto even heard one boy whispering that it might be part of the exams. When he told his teammates they just laughed; soon enough they would be able to show they belonged here.

They weren't waiting long in their seats before the door opened for the last time, admitting one very tired looking Jounin. He slowly walked to the front of the large classroom with his fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose making it look like he had a nasty headache. He was a lanky man wearing the standard Jounin attire of the jumpsuit and flak jacket with long unruly brown hair and a long katana strapped to his back. Naruto leaned over in his seat to Shisui as they watched the man tiredly lean back against the front wall of the room.

"Could have made a better entrance... maybe some smoke bombs or something." Shisui chuckled with a shrug as they turned their attention to the man at the front of the room.

"Alright, I'm Mishoto Gekkyo, the first proctor of the Chuunin exams." He looked towards the door of the room in annoyance like he was trying to set it on fire with his mind before he resumed rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I'm only here because my old teammate called in a favour so let's just get this over with." Naruto raised an eyebrow as he leant back in his chair, once again leaning over to Shisui.

"Just the picture of enthusiasm in this one." Shisui chuckled again as Mishoto pulled out a clipboard seemingly from nowhere and began to look down the names.

"Alright, I'm going to call you up individually and you'll go through that door..." He motioned with his thumb to an unassuming door behind him "...where you'll receive the first test. Any questions?" A few people raised their hands "No? Good." A few people scowled and started calling out but the man just stared up with bloodshot eyes in a scowl that made everybody silent again. "Like I said. Now, first up is Tekkyo Akasami from Takigakure." A tall boy with jet black hair stood up and walked towards the door, disappearing behind it and never coming back out.

It continued in this manner for a while as prospective Chuunin were called up to enter the room, none of them ever coming out again. Naruto just assumed it was because there was a door on the other side from whatever the test was and they didn't want people knowing what the test was. Quickly Naruto figured out it was supposed to simulate a situation where you were going into a mission blind, with little knowledge of what you would face.

Soon enough the N's were called up. Naruto had to go down and he got a good luck from Shisui and a nod from Itachi. Quickly, in case he earned a scowl from their frightening proctor, he made his way to the door and slipping through. He turned from closing the door only to raise an eyebrow when he realised where he was. He didn't remember using the room all that often during his brief span in the academy but he was certain he was in one of the many dojos that littered the school. It was a very large room, probably stretching all three floors of the building.

He jumped as a hand rested on his shoulder only to calm when he realised it was another Jounin. He pointed to the middle of the room where a massive pole was firmly planted on the floor, stretching up all three floors.

"This is your first test. You have five minutes to get the bell that's resting in a recess atop that pole." Naruto was about to ask him a question but the man just raised a finger to his lips. He didn't say anything but the message was clear. Naruto would be receiving no help in this test. He dropped down to the floor of the dojo, looking up at the impressive height of the pole. Knowing it would be useless but deciding to try anyway he forced chakra into his legs and jumped as high as he could. Like he had thought, he only reached about three quarters of the way up before gravity took hold again.

He looked up again, knowing he didn't have much time to think too hard on this. Carefully, he placed a foot on the pole, attempting to latch onto it with chakra. Immediately his foot just slid off like he didn't use chakra at all. Naruto's lips quirked into a knowing grin; they had obviously treated the pole the same way they had the walls of Konoha so ninja couldn't climb it. Instead, he ran at the walls of the room, thankful when his feet did manage to stick and he was able to sprint up the side of the room. He reached the top and was about to place his foot on the ceiling when he paused.

He repeated the action, but more slowly, noting that he once again couldn't gain purchase to simply walk over and drop down on the bell. He could see it glinting in the small recess atop the pole like it was taunting him and he was so close. He quickly took out a kunai; aiming carefully before launching it at the bell in hopes he could push it out onto the floor. His hopeful look turned into dismay as a small bubble of blue light sprung up around the top of the pole, deflecting his kunai harmlessly.

"Damn it I hate barriers; Looks like it's only supposed to repel weapons though." He sighed in annoyance but quickly pulled out a small slip of paper usually reserved for explosive notes. He hastily began to scribble out a rough seal across it, too pressed for time to make it perfect. He could only hope it would do as he wrapped the small note around his kunai, knowing he couldn't have more than thirty seconds left. He threw his weapon again and the barrier sprung up in response, however, this time the kunai glowed slightly as it passed through the bubble of light, hitting the bell and managing to knock it out of the dimple.

He caught it before it hit the ground, ducking into a small roll as he hit the ground before handing the bell to the Jounin. He just nodded, making a note of his name before telling him to leave through a door lower down in the room. As he left he could only wonder how his teammates would do, they didn't have his sealing knowledge. Itachi would most likely use his crow to simply get the bell which made Naruto jealous of his ease for a moment. Shisui would probably just get up the wall like him and Shunshin to the bell; though most people would find such a move impossible.

The Idea of the Shunshin was to temporarily revitalise your entire body with energy, giving you a burst of speed. However, the problem with that was it was very difficult to adjust how much energy you put into it. For most it was a long range transport jutsu with little fighting application due to its unpredictability. However it became apparent when Shisui had learnt the move that he had an almost unnatural control over the technique, able to finely focus just where he ended up. He was even able to use it in a fight, almost looking like he was using the Hiraishin as he jumped about the fight. Unfortunately for him the technique was rather taxing; so far he could use it up to five times in quick succession.

Either way he would have faith that his teammates would be able to do it; he had to.

* * *

"Alright brats, welcome to training ground 18, or as the ANBU like to call it, 'the city of bones'." The tall Jounin proctor standing in front of the gates to the training ground grinned at the slightly nervous faces of a few of the Genin. Others seemed less concerned and he couldn't fault them, on the outside the training ground didn't really seem like much. However there was a reason it was a training ground even ANBU didn't particularly enjoy being in.

"Behind this fence is the part of Konoha that was never fully restored after the Kyuubi attack. It's a mess of broken buildings and unsprung traps just waiting to take your heads off." He grinned as a few more faces joined the nervous ranks. "The second test is simple, each member of your team will be given a bell; your goal is to reach the old ANBU headquarters at the centre of the training ground. Sound simple enough? Wrong. You need to provide six bells at the door to get in, how you get those bells is up to you. There are a few scattered around the training ground itself but not enough for all of you. Failure to provide the bells after three days and your team will be disqualified; all three members of the team must be present to pass onto the next round." After making sure everybody understood he grinned again, producing a set of documents.

"You all also need to fill in these liability forms. From this point on in the exams killing is allowed." He said it with a grim, sunken face which only darkened as he saw a few Genin smirk at this; he despised people who made light of death. It was nothing to be laughed at. Dismissing his own feelings and hardening his heart, the Jounin passed out the forms, giving each team their bells as he did so. "Get to the gates around the training ground, the test will start in fifteen minutes. Good luck." He shook his head at the determined looks, wondering which fools would still be fools by the end of this exam.

* * *

Team Ensui were already racing through the training ground, determined to get through this stage as fast as possible. They needed to put some doubt in the minds of their future opponents as any of the Genin here could be. Naruto already knew that the last stage of the Chuunin exams were straight up fights. It was hardly a secret, after all, it was fairly hard to hide the massive celebrations and tournaments every six months. Ensui had even taken the group to the last Chuunin exams final to give them an idea of what they would be up against.

They tumbled and ducked under some rubble, following the path Itachi's Sharingan pointed them in. They were using the Doujutsu's ability to spot even the most minor details to track another team, a rather heavy-footed one in Itachi's opinion. They had been running for a good fifteen minutes before they picked up a trail and now they were racing through the rubble that made up the training ground to get to the other team.

Naruto took another surveying look around, noting the pure destruction that littered the enormous area. It made him shudder to think that one creature, no matter how powerful, had managed to do all of this. It was especially bad considering the fact he now contained that creature within himself, knowing the ancient beast was just biding its time before it escaped. Finally the group came to a silent rest high up in a somewhat stable building that hadn't taken too much damage. Below them, apparently making plans of some sort, were another Genin team.

Naruto absently noted their Headbands marked them as Suna Shinobi as he quickly made a few hand signs to his team. It was times like these he was glad Ensui had seen fit to teach them the standard ANBU sign language. Once he got two nods of approval Naruto grinned before cracking his neck and walking off the edge. He dropped down right in the middle of the three Genin, making sure the impact of his drop was enough to crack the already weak floorboards below them. They were so surprised that he had already stuck one of them directly between the eyes before they could react.

"Hey!" The next one to cry out received similar treatment as Naruto suddenly disappeared, reappearing behind the shocked Genin as he cracked him roughly on the back of the head. He cursed when the boy disappeared in a cloud of smoke only to be replaced by a pile of rubble from nearby. He dodged backwards suddenly, avoiding the closed fan that was ready to take his head off if he hadn't. Suddenly he was put on the defensive as the boy continued to swing his fan like a club, hoping to catch Naruto with the metal edge.

"Hold still, you Leaf asshole!" He was surprised when Naruto just chuckled, stopping his dodge mid-way and just standing up. The Suna Genin just smiled wickedly as he brought his massive fan around for a large swing. "Finally wizened up I see! Little brats like you aren't cut out for Chuunin." Naruto just shrugged, stowing away those infuriating words into the deep recesses of his mind. The Suna Genin brought his fan down in a hard, fast swing, only to pass straight through Naruto's body.

"Huh? Clone?" He jumped back in confusion only to find his legs trapped as he slowly began sinking into the ground. The sky above him warped and twisted, becoming a blood red. His eyes bulged wider as he looked up, noticing a bright spot in the sky that slowly became larger and brighter. His last waking thoughts as he brought his hands up to shield his eyes were filled with horrendous images of his own death before he blacked out from the illusionary pain. Above him Naruto just sighed as Itachi walked up behind him, holding out the bell from the Genin Naruto had hit first.

"You know, it's a lot less fun when you just put them under a Genjutsu." Itachi said nothing, just motioning over to where Shisui was engaging the last conscious opponent, the two going back and forth with Taijutsu. A long time ago Shisui may have found the much older boy difficult but with his Sharingan and practise sparring against Naruto he was easily countering the boy's every move and retaliating harshly. Finally the last Suna Genin dropped to the ground, too injured to carry on.

"Damn you, what the hell are you three?" Shisui smiled sinisterly as he reached down to grab the boy's bell, unwisely hanging from his belt.

"We're team Ensui, don't forget it!"

In a last burst of energy the Suna Genin grabbed the bell off his own belt and held it out in front of him.

"Fire release: Phoenix flower jutsu." He spat a single weak fireball at the bell but it was enough to melt the thin metal, rendering the bell useless. He smirked spitefully one last time before passing out from the pain running through his body. Shisui just cursed as he watched the molten metal that used to be the bell sink in to the ground, kicking the unconscious Suna ninja in irritation.

"Sore loser much?" Naruto just shrugged as the three of them sat around the small camp area the Suna Shinobi had set up.

"Well, now what?" Shisui shrugged once more, the two of them turning towards Itachi expectantly. The Uchiha thought for a moment, looking around them at the training ground.

"The only other option is to find another team and get their bells unless we want to waste time slogging through the training ground to find one of the single bells the proctor mentioned." Naruto straightened his spine with a grin.

"Who said we have to do it?" He formed a single hand sign as five more of him suddenly appeared in poofs of smoke. Shisui just looked at the clones with a small amount of exasperation while Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"How exactly are clones going to help us here?" Naruto grinned broadly as he suddenly threw a kunai at one of his clones; both Uchiha were amazed when the other Naruto effortlessly caught the thrown weapon by the handle.

"Not just clones. Shadow clones." Naruto quickly created several more and sent them all out to scout for either more bells or more teams. Each redhead saluted before disappearing in a burst of speed; at this rate they would have the bells no problem.

"When did you learn that?" it was Shisui who asked, still amazed by the fact Naruto could create solid clones; they could have so many applications. Naruto just rubbed his head sheepishly, realising he forgot to mention his new technique to his friends.

"Umm, about a month ago?" Both Uchiha glared at their friend, rather annoyed he had failed to mention this technique to them. "Remember how I have trouble with the regular clone Jutsu because of my Chakra reserves? Ensui-sensei said this would be a good alternative because they require a lot more Chakra." His teammates just nodded at that, with their Sharingan activated they couldn't even tell the difference between the original and the clones.

"They're also pretty useful because they can transmit information back to me when they dispel so I guess their main purpose is recon." Again he received nods, the logic was sound and the applications opened up even more.

"Could you teach us?" Naruto just shrugged as he reached into his pack, withdrawing the scroll Ensui had given him.

"Sure, I pretty much have it down." He passed the encrypted scroll to Shisui who looked over it almost with glee, already thinking of all the things he could do with it. Itachi gazed more coolly at the scroll, his mind running through a few thoughts.

"What happens if you put too much chakra into one of the clones?" Naruto just blinked as he looked at Itachi.

"I don't know, it's never happened before. Why?" Itachi just shrugged as he returned to looking at the scroll with a critical eye.

"No reason, just an idea." Naruto hummed thoughtfully at his friend's musing, Itachi was never satisfied with a jutsu until he found a way to tweak or personalize it to his preference. He was oddly predictable. Suddenly a clone dropped down in their midst's, looking ever so slightly singed as it panted breathlessly. Everybody smiled though when the artificial redhead reached into its pouch and withdrew a single gleaming bell.

"Woh what happened to you?" The clone just sighed as it dispelled itself, giving Naruto a sudden influx of information that made him shiver.

"The Jounin who set this place up was a freaking sadist." He shuddered again before the three of them got up, Shisui putting the Shadow clone scroll away. "Alright! We better get moving, no doubt there will be some teams setting up around the ANBU headquarters for ambushes, the longer we wait the more time we give them to prepare." After nods of acknowledgement from his teammates the three of them set off again, racing towards the centre of the training ground.


	8. New challengers

Naruto couldn't help the splitting grin that overcame his features as he stared around at the enormous crowd of people gathered. They were all here for him! Or, at least, that was how his slightly inflated head was thinking at the time. In truth many of the people gathered in the enormous stadium had come to watch all the prospective Chuunin fight. For many, it was the highlight of their year, for others it was a good time to relax or get some time off from work. Many would splurge their savings on the pot, the weeks leading up to the event filled with speculation on who would win.

There were many nobles and high-ranking people of the elemental nations' political system interspersed with the crowd, many of their pockets lined with tickets. The Fire Daimyo was even present, sitting in a specifically constructed box for him and any of his invitees. They were here to see the new crop of talent so that they could get a better idea of the various villages' strengths for when it came time to hire Shinobi. Finally there sat the Hokage up in his own platform, smiling down at the single Konoha team that had made it this far.

Four teams in total had made it to the final round, One from Sunagakure, another from Amegakure and a third from Takigakure. It had surprised many that the only major villages to make it to the finals had been Konoha and Suna, especially considering that teams from both Kiri and Kumo had entered. The news only made Hiruzen smile; he considered it a way to show that Konoha had not been weakened since the Kyuubi attack. Now all he needed was for the single leaf team to show off their abilities to reinforce that notion.

A hush overcame the crowd as a single Jounin made his way into the main ground of the arena, smiling happily as if he was walking to his favourite restaurant, not about to initiate a fight. He stopped in front of the four assembled teams who had also stopped chatting amongst themselves. He smiled again, making Naruto think he seemed far too happy for the position he was in, it actually creeped him out just a little. From the way his friends' faces turned, they were thinking the same thing.

"Alright guys, time to show what your villages are made of." He got a few grins from the Ame team at that which in turn only brightened his own smile. "Now, contrary to past years we felt that the number of people who made it through didn't quite warrant a preliminary round. However, there are still enough of you that one on one fights could take the majority of the day. Instead, so we don't bore our kind patrons and nobles, we'll be having team fights, three on three." A few of the Genins' eyebrows rose at this while once again the Ame team grinned deviously.

"Alright first up will be Konoha and Ame, then we'll have Suna against Taki before the winner of each match face off against one another. Remember, the fights will go on until I stop them or all the members of one team are unable to continue. Like the last round killing is alright here but only if necessary, no need to go and scare all the people who came to see you fight right?" He finished his semi-question with a sickeningly sweet smile that seemed all too genuine, another reason all the Genin found themselves taking a step back from the man unconsciously.

"Alright, Konoha and Ame stay here, the other two teams will go to the competitors box until this match is over." He grinned pleasantly again "Good luck guys and have fun" With nothing more he disappeared in a Shunshin to the other side of the arena with his arm raised up. The two Genin teams left in the arena looked at each other warily, taking in what they could of their opponents' abilities.

"You should have stayed in the academy brats; I don't know how you made it this far, but you're no match for us!" Naruto raised an eyebrow but smirked slightly as he turned away from the shouting Genin, already having gathered what he could. The one who spoke seemed to be the pseudo leader of the team, or at least, he was the brashest. He towered high for his age, dwarfing his two teammates with the muscles to match, clearly shown off with his ripped, sleeveless blue kimono.

An umbrella was slung over his back. From the one encounter team Ensui had with an Ame missing-nin, they knew it was full to the brim with Senbon. Other than that, he had no visible weapons. He could have more hidden away in his clothes and it was likely he was armed to the teeth. Naruto remembered a time when they had to fight against an annoyingly agile Kunoichi from Kiri who had a tendency to hide her weapons in surprising, and embarrassing places. So much so that she had eventually managed to give them the slip. To this day, Naruto and his team hadn't told anybody about that particular encounter or risk a heavy blush.

To the right of the 'leader' was a much shorter girl who nonetheless carried the same smug air about her, the kind members of a powerful clan tended to hold. He was just lucky Shisui and Itachi weren't like that or his time as a Genin would have been near-unbearable. She wore a flowing robe that, due to its impracticality in movement, probably made her a Genjutsu type. Naruto couldn't help noticing though that beneath her rather haughty attitude she was rather beautiful with her flowing black hair and large green eyes.

Finally the team was complimented by an average-looking boy to their leader's left. However, Naruto knew better than to assume somebody's abilities based purely on appearance. The way his fingers subtly twitched towards his many pockets led the redhead to believe he was eager to begin. His overall appearance gave Naruto the idea he was the up-close and personal type, further helped by the boxing tape wrapped around his hands and lower arms. Other than that there wasn't much to notice; slightly unruly brown hair, calculative black eyes and clothes that were obviously more for practicality than anything else.

He noticed that the other team were sizing them up just as much as he was and it made him wonder what they saw. He passed the thought over as he turned away, searching through the crowd until he spotted what he was looking for, Anko waving as she sat next to her Sensei. The leader of the other team seemed so irritated by the redhead's lack of attention towards his opponents, that he began to draw a Kunai out of his pouch. Luckily for him, at that very moment, the Jounin threw his hand down, initiating the match.

As if a switch had been flipped in each of the three Konoha Genin they suddenly span around, each unleashing their own barrage of Kunai. The move was so fast and synchronised the Ame Genin had some difficulty dodging, or in the case of their leader bringing his umbrella around to bat the projectiles away. Naruto absently noticed that thanks to her bulky kimono the girl managed to get hit by a glancing kunai thrown by Shisui.

Not willing to let up in their assault the three took on a well rehearsed and battle-honed tactic with Shisui and Naruto rushing forwards as Itachi stayed back, continuing to offer support with the occasional barrage of Kunai. As they ran Naruto felt the trace amount of his opponents chakra try to invade his mind in an attempt to put him under a Genjutsu. He scoffed at the attempt, knowing that Itachi would be insulted if he didn't manage to break out of such a weak technique. Even as he thought this a few chains seemed to break out of the earth, each with a pointed tip solely aimed at him.

Before the phantom implements could even get close he suddenly disrupted his entire chakra system before flaring it back, stronger than ever. Instantly, the illusion was broken, surprising the girl who had attempted to cast it. In her surprise she found it difficult to react, as Naruto closed the distance between them so hastily he seemed to vanish in a Shunshin. Flickering back into existence right of her, he lashed out with a strong kick meant to hit her in the stomach. She blocked with both of her bony arms, once again surprised by the ferocity and power behind the blow that forced her back a little.

However, what she really didn't expect was for Naruto to suddenly twist his body, using the leverage he already had on her body to raise his other foot and deliver a powerful scissor kick to her back. The girl cried out in pain, obviously not used to fighting up close like this; it was painfully apparent she had become overly reliant on her teammates. In a surprising move, she managed to spin her body around, catching Naruto off guard for just a moment. However, she missed her opportunity to capitalise on that instability. Naruto grounded his feet and disappeared in a burst of speed again.

The girl just glanced around fearfully, trying to predict where Naruto would appear next without success. The last thing she saw was the second shadow merged with her own in front of her before a swift chop had her knocked out on the ground. Naruto sighed at the lack of fight the girl had put up, expecting more from his first real fight with people his own rank apart from his teammates. He glanced around to check on his friends, noting that Shisui was currently engaged in a hectic Taijutsu match with their leader, while Itachi had already managed to subdue his opponent with a subtle Genjutsu that had the boy believing he was fighting an army of undead.

Content to allow his teammate to finish on his own Naruto settled for tying up the girl as he watched Shisui fight from the corner of his eye. The Uchiha grinned as he ducked under another fast and powerful low, his Sharingan easily predicting the next movement, allowing him to subtly divert the next punch away from himself. Taking advantage of that and unintentionally borrowing a move from Naruto, he kept a hold of the loose arm as he spun around, lashing out with his fist at the last moment to catch the large Genin in the side of the head.

The Ame Shinobi seemed dazed by the blow, but otherwise unhurt, made clear as he rushed back into the conflict. This time, he had brought out his umbrella, using the reinforced implement as a makeshift sword with surprising skill. It was enough to keep Shisui on the defensive and far enough away the he couldn't engage with Taijutsu again. Naruto was about to go in and help his teammate before the Uchiha jumped backwards, hurriedly running through hand signs before finishing on tiger.

"Fire release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" To the Ame Shinobi and spectators' surprise an enormous ball of pure flames erupted from Shisui's mouth. It was massive, even for some watching Jounin, a truly impressive jutsu for one so young, even if he was an Uchiha. The single remaining Ame Genin tried to appear unfazed as he opened out his umbrella. When the sphere of heat finally dissipated, the boy was standing in an enormous crater. His umbrella was slightly singed, his body sweating from the incredible burst of heat, but otherwise he was undamaged.

"Wow, pretty pathetic fireball if it couldn't even touch me, now let me show you why I was the Rookie of the year in Ame!" The boy suddenly threw his umbrella high up into the air before jumping up and grabbing a hold of it again. "Ninja art: Rain blood drops!" He began to spin furiously, looking like a small tornado as he continued to spin in the air, held aloft by the umbrella. Out of nowhere senbon began to rain down from him in numbers that seemed unlikely from such a small umbrella.

Soon enough the entire arena was completely covered in the deadly metal implements and as he landed, a little winded from the attack, he huffed. The arena was in complete silence as everybody looked at the five bodies lying on the floor. Even the other two Ame ninja hadn't been spared from the slaughter; they just lay there, bleeding slowly. Finally the last standing ninja grinned victoriously, a smile that was wiped from his face as all five bodies puffed out of existence.

To his surprise the Konoha team suddenly rose from the ground like it was water, suddenly very thankful Ensui had seen fit to teach them the 'Earth release: Hiding like a mole technique'. Naruto had the girl he was fighting slung over one shoulder while Itachi had his opponent in a similar position under his arm.

"You know, people like you, people who abandon their teammates - they're worse than trash." The Ame ninja was too tired to hide his annoyance at their survival as he huffed in apparent indignation.

"If they were weak enough to lose to brats like you, then they didn't deserve to live." Both Naruto and Shisui's eyes twitched dangerously while Itachi even seemed slightly riled by the comment. Before anybody else could react, Shisui vanished in a technique very well-known to the Jounin in the crowd. Nobody was left unsurprised as he reappeared in a similar flicker of movement behind the Ame Genin, crouched down in a ready stance. The other Shinobi could only widen his eyes before he was launched into the air by a particularly vicious kick.

He was rightfully frightened when Shisui flickered into existence above him, his leg raised and a snarl on his face. He brought it down in one fast kick that sent the unfortunate Genin into the ground, a huge plume of smoke and debris following his impact. When it finally cleared it revealed a very much unconscious and badly hurt Ame Genin laying in a crater double his own height in diameter. After the stunned silence in the audience lasted for a few seconds, a single clapping Jounin soon turned onto an enormous round of applause for the entire Konoha team.

Naruto just smiled happily even as the unconscious girl on his shoulder groaned, waking up from her forceful departure into the land of sleep. The three Genin, each now carrying their own unconscious passenger, quickly made their exit to the competitor box to let the other teams fight. Naruto set his charge down against the wall as his teammates followed suit, only paying slight mind to the fight going on in the arena between the Suna Shinobi and the Taki ninja.

"So, how'd you think we did?" Naruto just grinned at Shisui as the gesture was returned in kind.

"I caught a glimpse of a few Nobles as we left the arena, they looked pretty impressed." Shisui just smiled to himself at that, happy he managed to leave an impact on the judges. Itachi however seemed more thoughtful, his attention on the fight at hand as he tried to take in their potential opponents' abilities to prepare against them. As far as he could tell the Suna Shinobi seemed to be using mainly earth techniques to subdue their opponents, one even was attempting to use some rather weak wind techniques. The Taki Shinobi however seemed to use solely water techniques, as befitting of the village they hailed from.

"We shouldn't let the victory go to our heads; we still have other opponents to face before this is over." Naruto just sighed with a small smile on his face, looping an arm over his team mate's shoulders.

"Come on Itachi; just enjoy the victory for once. If we can face A-ranked missing-nin, then a few Genin shouldn't be trouble." Itachi sighed with his eyes closed. Sometimes, his friends were a bit too overconfident for their own good.

"Just don't underestimate our opponents." Naruto gave a conceding nod with a quirk of his lips as the three turned back to the arena, only to find that the match was already over. Shisui's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the speed the match was fought at.

"Uhh, did anybody catch what happened?" He didn't see the two confused shakes his friends gave in the negative, his eyes glued on the scene. The Suna Shinobi lay on the ground, one completely unconscious while the other two were rolling on the ground, their eyes screwed shut in pain. Itachi narrowed his eyes, trying to examine what he could from the scene but drawing a blank. It looked like the effects of a flash bomb but more severe and nobody in the audience seemed affected.

"Intriguing." Naruto had similar thoughts as he gazed down at the arena, watching with a critical eye as the Suna team was carried off. Finally, they were called up and each vanished, reappearing in the centre of the arena in their own unique way. They found that arriving in two flashes of speed and a flock of crows had the tendency to put their opponents off. It seemed ineffective against the Taki Shinobi but Naruto at least took that time to examine them.

The one standing in the centre reminded him of the other 'leader' of the last group they fought. He was tall with broad shoulders and the muscles that spoke of a lot of intense training. However he differed from the other boy as is face held none of that same arrogance; to the contrary he seemed quite kind and pleasant. He had a dull, dirty blonde mop of hair that almost hid his light green eyes. He wore a dark green shirt with a darker brown coat slung over the top a while his forehead protector was displayed in a similar way to Naruto's own.

To his left and right stood two girls, one his age and one that seemed much younger. The first had a shock of white hair that stretched down her back with two long bangs that framed the sides of her face and complimented her shining blue eyes. She wore a light blue dress that seemed deceptively restricting for her line of work as well as two boot-like sandals. The sleeves of her dress fanned out at her wrists, covering her hands and keeping whatever she was holding hidden.

The last girl was the most intriguing with green hair and the most startling pair of orange eyes he had ever seen. However, the more surprising thing was that she seemed even younger than him team, possibly up to two years younger. In comparison to her teammates, she seemed rather shy, as if she didn't feel she belonged with them. Naruto also managed to catch that every time either of her teammates would look at her it would be with either a dense glare or face-wrinkling anxiety. She looked up and for a brief instance their eyes met; just looking into her incredible orange eyes he saw loneliness and pain, the likes of which a girl her age shouldn't have experienced. Was she trying to evoke his sympathy? He wouldn't relax around a strange team like Taki's now.

Before he could dwell on it the match was started; this time instead of rushing in like they had before the team decided to remain back and let their opponents come to them. Just as they hoped the two older teammates rushed forward, both running through simultaneous hand signs before holding out their hands.

"Water release: Water-cutting sword!" Instantly water coalesced from the surrounding moisture into two long swords made entirely out of water. Taken by surprise Shisui had to jump back from their attack, having nothing he could use to defend against the larger boy. Itachi managed to jump in before his friend wound up in a difficult situation, his tanto already in hand. Naruto on the other hand was grinning as he finally got an opportunity to test a technique he had been steadily working on recently. Running through his own hand signs he extended his hand in a similar manner to the Taki Shinobi.

"Wind release: Blade of wind!" An almost invisible blade materialised in Naruto's hand, flickering slightly as he fought to stabilise his chakra in the technique. Luckily, his practise with the Rasengan greatly improved his control over the difficult shape manipulation technique, unfortunately, he could still only hold it for a minute at maximum. He met the slash from the older female member of the team, the surprise evident on her face when he parried her attack with seemingly nothing. That surprise seemed to carry over as his blade just seemed to melt through her own, forcing her to jump back or be slashed across the chest.

She looked at Naruto warily, trying to distinguish his blade from the surrounding air while Naruto tried not to show how difficult maintaining his technique was. Knowing he was running out of time, the redhead shot forward with his weapon extended. The Taki Kunoichi tried to block but once again his own blade just phased right through her own, this time managing to nick her on the arm before she dodged away. Finally, Naruto released the jutsu, finding it too difficult to maintain his chakra flow any longer.

In the brief lull he sent a glance to see how his friends were doing while the Kunoichi was making sure he still didn't have his wind blade. Itachi was currently in a fierce Kenjutsu fight, finding it difficult due to the water-cutting sword's ability to simply pass through his own. He was having to use the flat of is tanto to divert the blade instead of blocking it directly which forced him to adapt his still rather fresh sword style. Luckily his Sharingan's predictive abilities kept him at his much more skilled opponent's level. Even now he was subtly weaving a complicated Genjutsu to keep the man occupied.

Shisui on the other hand had taken advantage of the fact the last member of the opposing team seemed to just be holding back, doing nothing. However, while he rushed at her with harsh and brutal, yet swift and precise attacks, she dodged every one. Her movements weren't particularly fast but she had a strange airy grace as she seemed to almost dance around his blows. What made it worse for the Uchiha was that she wasn't even trying to counter-attack so his Sharingan became less helpful.

Returning to his own fight he frantically moved to the left just as the Kunoichi thrust at him with her sword, barely dodging the attack before he sent three very swift punches along her arm. They weren't particularly damaging but they were enough to disrupt her concentration and force her to abandon the technique. Now sword-less, she was put on the defensive as Naruto came at her in a blur of red, moving much faster than her body could react. He was admittedly holding back but he didn't want to seriously hurt the girl, just incapacitate her.

Unfortunately, that gave her the opportunity to pull out a kunai. Getting close to her with pure Taijutsu was now going to be much more problematic. He sighed as he pulled out a kunai of his own, drawing gasps from the few Shinobi present who knew what the unique design meant. Of course, he didn't know the Hiraishin as his skills with seals weren't anywhere close to his father's level, but he used the kunai anyway to get a feel for them when that time came.

He re-engaged the Kunoichi, deflecting or blocking her attacks but never offering any of his own above a simple scratch along the arm or a nick on the chest. Finally he grew slightly tired of the fight and disappeared in a blur of red again; this time, he just appeared behind her, lashing out with a curt kick to the back of her head. To his surprise the girl in front of him simply melted into a puddle of water, the Kunoichi having apparently substituted herself as soon as he disappeared. She smiled victoriously as she appeared behind him, stabbing him in the side with her kunai.

To her even greater surprise, the redhead in front of her also disappeared, but in a cloud of smoke. She was too surprised to defend the blow to the back of her head, dropping to the ground without any more fight. Naruto looked around again to check on his teammates only to find Itachi had subdued his in the same manner as before, while Shisui appeared to almost be dancing with his opponent. The Kunoichi he was fighting finally noticed that both her teammates had been defeated and jumped back, looking between the three of them fearfully.

"Please, I don't want to hurt you."

Shisui just scoffed in irritation as he attempted to close the distance between them with a Shunshin. The mint-haired girl surprised him though when he appeared behind her; he was suddenly blown back by an unseen force while Naruto and Itachi looked on in amazement. Protruding from the girl's back were a set of insect-like wings that left many in the audience, save those from Takigakure, in awe and silence. With one quick flap she had sent Shisui flying back from the gust of wind she created.

"I'm sorry about this." She started to fly up into the air, keeping her audience and her opponents amazed that she could actually fly. "Hiding in scale powder jutsu!" Suddenly the girl exhaled an enormous mass of fine powder particles into the air, even as the three Konoha Genin looked on in wonder. Suddenly all the particles seemed to glow before they caught the light, blinding all three Shinobi in the arena yet somehow leaving the audience unaffected. Both Itachi and Shisui fell to the ground in pain, their sensitive Doujutsu being overloaded by all the light.

Naruto winced in pain as he closed his eyes, but didn't fall; instead he focused on his ears, trying to find the Kunoichi through his other sense. For her part the girl seemed surprised that Naruto could still stand and immediately targeted him first. However, to her even greater surprise, as soon as she flapped her wings once his head snapped around in her direction at the same moment his arm did. Three of his kunai immediately shot from his extended hand with perfect accuracy. Everybody in the audience was left astounded as they looked on at the Taki Kunoichi pinned to the arena wall with a kunai in each wing and one protruding from her thigh.

When Naruto's vision finally returned he saw the proctor call the match, but not before the arena had once again erupted into a massive round of applause. He helped Shisui to his feet before doing the same with Itachi, both heavily disoriented by their temporary loss of vision. They looked around themselves, or at least the two Uchiha appeared to, in fact they still couldn't see properly. The crowds were in an uproar of cheering, praising their performance to the highest degree. The three of them just soaked it in with grins, even Itachi was smiling lightly.

* * *

Naruto ran down the corridor of the arena, calling for the Taki Shinobi to wait; the three young Genin just looked around in confusion before spotting the approaching redhead. The mint-haired girl, who was in the best condition despite her limp turned to see what he wanted while her teammates just continued on. Naruto stopped in front of her, smiling slightly despite her outwardly cautious appearance.

"Hi, I'm Naruto." He extended his arm out even as the girl just looked at it with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. After a few moments Naruto just chuckled, looking between the two of them. "Uhh, you're supposed to shake it." The mint-haired girl's eye narrowed but she took his offered hand anyway, shaking it only once before pulling back. "Don't have much experience with people do you?" He chuckled again, only meaning it jokingly but immediately the girl's head lowered; the sadness was evident in her eyes despite her attempts to hide it.

"Oh uh, sorry about that." The girl just shook her head as she extended her own hand, this time when Naruto took it she shook for slightly longer and even managed a weak smile.

"No problem, it's Fuu by the way." Naruto just smiled before Fuu finally took her hand away. "So what did you want Naruto?" The redhead suddenly became slightly more serious, shocking the Taki Kunoichi with how quickly he changed his emotions.

"I couldn't help but notice, back when you used that wing technique, your Chakra it was, well..." he struggled for the words, knowing it would probably be a touchy subject for the girl if her reaction to the handshake was anything to go on "...you're a Jinchuuriki aren't you?" Fuu immediately took a step back, her eyes narrowed and posture defensive.

"Why? What does it matter to you?" Her tone said it all, any trust he had managed to garner in their brief exchange was gone, replaced by cautiousness and distrust. Quickly, Naruto waved a dismissive hand as he pulled up his fishnet shirt, channelling chakra so that his seal became visible. Fuu just stared at it in recognisable shock before looking back up to his sheepishly smiling face. "Y-You're one too?" Naruto just nodded slightly grimly but managed to keep a small smile on his features.

"I just wanted to check on you, we have to stick together right?" Fuu just nodded dumbly before blinking herself out of the slight stupor that overcame her.

"Umm, I have to catch up to my friends but, if you're ever in Taki I guess..." Naruto just nodded in understanding, his smile growing slightly.

"Likewise." Fuu managed to broaden her smile ever so slightly before she turned around to walk off, taking one last look over her shoulder at Naruto before jogging off to catch up to her team. Naruto watched her leave before sighing, he probably could have handled that better, but it turned out alright in the end. He had been sincere when he told Fuu he only wanted to check on her; he hadn't simply sat idle since finding out what he held within him.

He had researched Jinchuuriki and what he found had not been encouraging. Most were used as weapons while others were driven insane by their tenants. It was generally not a pleasant existence, especially considering many Jinchuuriki were seen as the Biju they contained and hated for it. Luckily for Naruto, it had been his father's wish that he be treated as a hero for what he contained. While it didn't quite extend that far, most didn't look at him any differently for what he held. He guessed it helped that he wasn't a baby when it was sealed or the people would have nothing to compare his behaviour to.

"Hey! There you are Naruto!" he turned only to get tackled by a flying hug from a purple blur.

"Oh, hey Anko." He said in a pleased murmur. She sat on his chest, straddling him with a grin as she poked him in the forehead.

"That was pretty impressive, mister Chuunin." Naruto just chuckled, accepting that fact that Anko probably wasn't going to get off of him anytime soon.

"Anko, you know that just because we won we aren't necessarily going to be made Chuunin." Anko just scoffed with a playful smirk.

"As if. After that performance, how couldn't you get promoted?" Naruto conceded a small smile before poking the straddling girl in the stomach.

"Just remember that'll be you next year." He was briefly saddened when he remembered the training trip Anko was about to leave on but he covered it well. She finally let him up and the two began to make their way out of the arena corridor to find Naruto's team and go celebrate their victory. However as soon as they did an ANBU operative dropped from the shadows, startling both of them.

"Naruto Namikaze, a message from lord Danzo." The redhead jut looked at the scroll the masked Shinobi offered before taking it, allowing the ANBU to once again disappear into the shadows.

"Danzo? The guy who's in charge of ANBU? What does he want with me?" Anko just shrugged as the two continued on with Naruto's eyebrows disappearing further and further into his hairline the more of the scroll he read.


	9. New Journeys

"You asked to see us Hokage-sama?" Hiruzen smiled as the three Genin walked into the room, all noting that their sensei was present as well.

"Yes Naruto, I called you here to talk about your performance in the Chuunin exams." Immediately a gleam of anticipation appeared in Shisui's eyes, Naruto likewise felt excited, but hid it better to maintain his dignified exterior. While Itachi... continued to be Itachi - his face stony and stoic, eyes staring ahead like a spectre. Naruto wondered if he was always lost in his thought or just completely mindless. All three straightened up slightly, already half-knowing what this was about now and none of them feeling any less honoured.

"Our performances?" he said it with a straight face but it was all Shisui could do to stop himself bouncing around in joy. The Hokage for his part simply smiled kindly; he always enjoyed this moment and it was never any different.

"After your outstanding participation in the Chuunin exam finals as well as exemplary instances of both teamwork and individual cunning, I'm proud to award you all the rank of Chuunin." As he said it he pulled out three standard Chuunin flak jackets from a drawer, handing them to Ensui who, in turn, passed them on to the three smiling Genin. "I can only say I'm proud of each and every one of you, now go and serve your village in your new roles." All three newly promoted Chuunin gave a quick and very much happy nod before being ushered out of the office.

Hiruzen smiled warmly as he leant back in his large chair, confident in the knowledge he made the right decision to promote those three. Hiruzen thought excitedly, '_Naruto, you are already well on your way to surpassing your father!'_ However, that idea made the aging Hokage sink as he swivelled in his chair. The stoic faces of the past Hokage stared back at him through the open window, their grim looks mirroring his own. "Minato, it should have been you standing here giving your son that flak jacket." He thought of Minato's own rise through the ranks, Jiraiya standing beside him - and it made his nostalgic heart clench. He sighed slowly before returning to the large stack of paperwork that always appeared around the Chuunin exams, the emptiness of the office doing little to quiet the twisting in his stomach.

* * *

The looks of glee on each of the boy's faces could be likened to that of a child receiving the present they had been waiting for all year. Itachi was the only one who managed to maintain somewhat of an air of composure while his two slightly more open teammates were just barely restraining themselves from bouncing off the walls.

"Yes! I can't believe we did it!" Naruto just grinned with equal fervour as he looped an arm around his friend's shoulders.

"Ahh, please! Like there was ever any doubt - we are the best Genin team after all!"

Itachi even chuckled at that, but only just a little, his lips parting as he said at last, with total, cold confidence, "We _were_ the best Genin team."

When his friends only looked at him strangely, obviously waiting for an explanation, he simply lifted up his recently acquired jacket as well as a single eyebrow. Both Naruto and Shisui broke out into enormous grins before being lightly smacked around the back of their heads by their sensei.

"Hey! Ensui Sensei, what's the big idea?!" The elder Nara simply sighed in exasperation at Shisui's antics before slowly walking off down the hallway.

"Don't get too ahead of yourselves, you're only Chuunin." Both Shisui and Naruto managed to snort at that, still keeping their smirks up.

"As if anything could get me down today, now come on Naruto, Itachi, it's not every day you make Chuunin, we need to go out and celebrate." His redhead friend nodded quickly as both looked towards Itachi expectantly. The most calm and level-headed of the group merely sighed before looking up with the barest hints of a smirk.

"I guess a few drinks would be alright." He instantly regretted that comment as Shisui fist pumped the air before grabbing both of his friends' hands and disappearing in a large swirl of leaves. When they all reappeared next to the dango hut they often frequented with Anko, both Naruto and Itachi nearly keeled over.

"Dammit Shisui! What've I told you about taking us along on your Shunshins?!" Shisui just grinned sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head; he was still too happy to particularly care though.

"I'm going to have a lot of fun getting back at you for that when I get the Hiraishin down." Naruto's lips curled at the corners, evilly smirking at his Uchiha friend as he struggled to right himself after the disorienting experience. To this day, he had unpleasant memories of when his father would take him through his famed technique. While his body adjusted eventually, the first few times were still nerve-wracking; humans just weren't meant to move at those kinds of speeds naturally.

"Awww, come on, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Shisui couldn't understand his friends' positions. He suffered absolutely no ill-effects when he used his favourite jutsu. However the two equally hard glares he got from his teammates told him otherwise. "Anyway, come on, first drinks are on me then." Sweat dripped from his temple at how quickly his friends recovered after that, making him briefly wonder if he just got swindled. He wasn't given much time to ponder it before he was pulled into the dango hut by both arms.

A few minutes later and the three of them were sat down around a booth with a plate of steaming dango in the middle next to a jug of sake and a small bowl of red bean paste. The general atmosphere of the small restaurant and bar was light and jovial, another reason why the three former Genin enjoyed visiting so often; that, and the fact that it was practically Anko's second home. All three of them were eyeing their new flak jackets with grins, or in Itachi's case, a small smirk.

"Man, this is so cool! I've been waiting way too long to get this jacket." Even as the self-proclaimed Shunshin expert said that he was slipping on said symbol of his new rank. Naruto just nodded slowly, even as a small frown managed to work its way onto his features despite the happy occasion.

"Yeah, me too... but I don't know whether it's even worth putting it on." Both Uchiha just looked at their friend oddly before their own frowns found their way onto their faces.

"Oh, I guess you're right." Shisui couldn't believe his happy mod had been deflated so quickly.

"That's right; ANBU." Naruto and Shisui nodded at their friend's comment, their minds going back to when each received their own letter from the elite organisation.

"What do you guys think it will be like in ANBU?" Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, as did Itachi, both seeming lost in their own thoughts about their future careers.

"Kaa-san was in ANBU for a while but she had to stop when I was born." Itachi nodded quickly, putting his jacket to one side for now.

"Yes, she was on the same team as my mother. From what she tells me they generally handle the more covert missions for the village, more danger but much less recognition. However generally Shinobi tend not to do more than five years within the organisation, most see it as unhealthy to go on for more." That put both of the stoic Uchiha's teammates into thought.

"I don't get it, we're only just Chuunin, why are we getting this invitation now?" Itachi sighed as he looked at his jacket again before turning his gaze over to his fellow clan member.

"You forget that Kakashi Hatake, the Copy ninja, was in ANBU at around our age." Naruto perked up at the mention of one of his father's students.

"Yeah but that was just after the war, and he was already a Jounin." Itachi just shrugged, in honesty he knew just as much as his teammates; he was only trying to offer what insight he could. Shisui looked around at his friends, noting how the atmosphere had been effectively dampened in only a few minutes.

"Hey, come on guys, today was supposed to be a great day I mean come on, we're Chuunin, this is the start of a new chapter in our careers and ANBU will be just the same. As long as we're a team, then we're unstoppable." Naruto smiled at that, feeling his confidence return quickly.

"Yeah, ANBU won't know what hit them!" Itachi sighed with a small smile as he looked up at his friends.

"Well we can all agree on that." With the mood effectively restored they began to dig into their otherwise untouched plate of dango.

"Anyway, I bet I can make captain before Itachi can." The Sharingan wielder merely raised an eyebrow at his redheaded friend while covering up the small smirk that overcame his features.

"You do realise the previous captain has to resign or be incapacitated for a new one to be picked?" Naruto just grinned happily between mouthfuls of the sweet dumplings.

"So you admit that you can't do it?" This time Itachi couldn't hide the smirk as hit slipped over his face.

"Never."

* * *

The three Chuunin emerged from the dango hut laughing, smiling, and just a little drunk. There were about to take off in their individual directions, namely home, before another leaf Chuunin dropped down in front of them. Almost instantly sobering they watched as the Chuunin took out a small scroll from his pocket and handed it to Shisui before sprinting off again. His friends looked curiously over his shoulder as he read the message, watching as his face grew whiter by the second.

"Shisui, what's wrong? What does it say?" He didn't get an answer as Shisui vanished in a large swirl of leaves, dropping the scroll on the ground. Naruto picked it up and quickly scanned its contents, with each passing line the frown on his face grew before a sad sigh escaped his lips.

"What does it say?" Naruto turned to his other Uchiha friend before showing him the message, like before Itachi's usually impassive face quickly dissolved into a frown. The two Chuunin immediately took off in the direction of the hospital.

* * *

Both Naruto and Itachi waited anxiously outside the hospital room door; Naruto paced nervously while Itachi passed the time staring at the clock hanging in the corridor. They had already been waiting for fifteen minutes for Shisui to re-emerge from the room. Finally the door opened slowly and a pale Shisui walked out with unsteady feet. Immediately Itachi was on his feet and Naruto was across the hallway, both looking to their friend with worry.

"How is she?" Shisui looked up at them and both could see his bloodshot eyes, stained from recent tears.

"The doctors are still running tests, they said when she wakes up they will have a better idea." He looked down again, fresh tears already beginning to leak from the corners of his eyes. "But they said it wasn't good, they said she probably won't last the night." Both Itachi and Naruto's eyes opened wide at that, unable to find the words to express their shock. Naruto settled for placing his arms around his friend's shoulders in a comforting manner while Itachi patted him once on the back, rather awkward in situations like these.

"Is there anything we can do?" Shisui shook his head slowly, his breathing returning to normal from his panting sobs.

"I'm going to stay here, see if she wakes up before..." he trailed off, unable to finish the thought as his body was once again wracked with sobs. Naruto was force to support his friend as he nearly collapsed from the emotional stress. He looked up at Itachi and after receiving a nod from the other Uchiha they both led the quietly sobbing boy back inside the hospital room. The window was left slightly open and a light breeze drifted in, moving the curtains slightly in the wind.

A woman with dark hair lay on the single hospital bed reserved for Uchiha patients when the need arose. Her face looked serene in her sleep but there were the unmistakable signs of exhaustion and her whole body spoke of her tiredness. Naruto had to admit that even he was rather shell-shocked by this whole affair and with his mother's passing and his befriending of Shisui, Nemui Uchiha had almost become a surrogate mother for him.

Now he was looking down on her peaceful form as he led Shisui to the chair by her bedside. For all the world it looked like she was merely asleep, if he didn't know any better he might have believed she would wake up tomorrow like nothing was wrong. The signs had always been there, she was always tired when he would come around to their house; then again he attributed that to the stress of being a single mother.

With Shisui's father passing away not long after his birth, Nemui was practically all the young Uchiha prodigy had as family. He still had his clan but nothing really compared to the love of a mother or the bond of a father, Naruto could certainly attest to that. If the doctors were right and the woman wasn't long for this world, then... Shisui would lose his last shred of true family. He looked to his left and saw that Shisui had managed to drift off into a somewhat fitful sleep, the emotion of it all finally catching up to him.

Naruto sighed quietly as he took the seat to Nemui's other side, he would keep watch all night if he had to in case the woman woke up, Shisui shouldn't have to miss his mother's last words. He sat there all night, just watching over their sleeping forms through half-lidded eyes, never moving an inch until sunlight finally streamed through the blinds. Itachi had long since gone home, probably to inform his family of what was going on; the passing of an Uchiha was a big affair in a clan like theirs.

It seemed as though nothing would happen. That as the sun began to bleed through into the room, the woman would pass without a word, her breaths so shallow and irregular that it seemed like she was already dead.

Naruto had to go to the bathroom as dawn came, he excused himself hurriedly, the door to the cramped room slipping open and shut quietly.

It seemed Shisui's mother picked just that time to awaken. Her dim, dark eyes opened slightly, seeing her empty son by her bedside. She may have tried to smile just then, but a withered, pained look was all she produced. She swallowed dryly, her voice like a cracking hiss, "Shisui."

Her son looked up at her with wide, spinning eyes. He was stressed enough to activate his Sharingan and Nemui felt the hint of pride swell in her belly. Her son was strong. So strong. She spoke those words to him, her vision swimming and fuzzy, but she clinged to her own strength, knowing she did not have much longer to live.

"I want to give you a gift, Shisui." She breathed, "It's not a pretty gift, but I want to live on through my son..."

"Kaa-chan..." Shisui murmured pitifully, words failing him.

"Forgive me." Was all she said, as she lifted her hands, releasing the last of her chakra, trapping her son in a genjutsu.

When Naruto returned, his body stiffened. He saw Shisui's face buried silently into the stomach of his mother, who was completely still, her eyes wide, her body stiff with the grip of death.

Shisui's body tremored in agony, his entire body just as stiff as his mother's. Two bloody tears dripped from his eyes. As Naruto turned to call for a doctor, they would all fail to miss the three tomoe in Shisui's Sharingan shifting into a new design resembling a thick four-pronged Shuriken, the boy collapsing onto the floor painfully, his body finally going slack.

* * *

The three Chuunin knelt in a line in a darkened chamber well below Konoha-proper. The space was dry and airy but held the unmistakable air of a military instillation. The corridors were very utilitarian and uninspired with their monotonous design and dull grey paint. In front of the trio stood a tall man wearing the dark coat common to most ANBU operatives, however, he was not wearing the standard mask. It allowed the sight of his bandaged right eye and the cross-shaped scar on his chin as well as his spiky black hair.

"Do you know why you were chosen to be here?" Naruto looked up from his knelt position straight into the man's single visible eye which looked back with a blank, emotionless expression.

"To work in the shadows where even Shinobi fear to tread." The man nodded once as his gaze turned to Itachi on Naruto's left.

"And do you know why we must move in those shadows?" Itachi looked up as well, meeting the man's steeled gaze with an equally steadfast look.

"So that we can protect our village from the dark by harnessing it ourselves." The man nodded once more as his gaze finally drifted across to Shisui to Naruto's right.

"And at what cost would you protect your village by?" Shisui paused a moment before he too finally looked up, the three tomoe of his eye spinning slowly in a cold gaze.

"With our lives and souls." The man nodded for the last time with a small fleeting smile before he was handed three masks from another operative standing just to his left.

"Then from this day, until you leave this organisation, you are no longer Naruto Namikaze." The redhead stood up as he accepted the white porcelain mask he was handed and looked at the animal design emblazoned on its surface.

"I am no longer Naruto Namikaze, I am Tora." He smiled as Naruto walked backwards a few paces.

"You are no longer Itachi Uchiha." Itachi repeated the process as he too took his mask.

"I am no longer Itachi Uchiha, I am Taka." The man nodded curtly as he finally turned to the last member of the trio.

"And you are no longer Shisui Uchiha." Once again the young Uchiha hesitated before slowly rising to his feet and looking the man right in the eye.

"I am no longer Shisui Uchiha, I am Tori." The man finally stood back as Shisui rejoined his teammates in their line again.

"Excellent, then welcome to ANBU." The three now masked Shinobi all bowed curtly even as the man began to walk from the small room.

"Thank you lord Danzo." None of them saw the smirk on the man's lips as he slowly limped from the room, refusing to use his cane for an important ceremony like this. _'The Nine-tails Jinchuuriki and two Uchiha prodigies, everything is just falling into my lap.'_ When the man was finally out of the room the three newly anointed ANBU operatives breathed a sigh of relief. Danzo had a way of making any room rather uncomfortable. Even as they relaxed, another ANBU dropped from the ceiling, seemingly having been there the whole time.

"Yo." The trio just stared at the dog-masked man for a moment blankly, not that you could tell from behind their new masks. He was taller than them but he didn't appear that much older, maybe four or five years at most. His most defining feature thanks to the mask covering his face was the incredible mass of gravity-defying silver hair. "I'm Inu, your ANBU captain. From this point on you answer directly to me unless I say otherwise, my word is only superseded by that of the Hokage, got it?" After receiving a few nods from the latest recruits he smiled lazily behind his mask, both of them.

"Good, then let's see about setting you guys up with a mission, shall we?"

* * *

Anko couldn't help but sigh as she walked out of the leaf village's main gate. She was finally going on her year-long trip with Orochimaru yet Naruto hadn't turned up to see her off; it was really unlike her redheaded friend. She knew he was a lot busier now that he was in the ANBU corp but she still thought he would at least turn up seeing as it was the last chance they had to see each other for a long time.

Still, she was happy. After all, she now had the chance to properly learn from one of the Sannin! Not only that, but she was going to be able to see the elemental nations; she had been studying all she could so she wouldn't disappoint her sensei. The tall, long-haired man was currently standing next to her, looking rather impatient as he tapped his foot irritably. He had granted her five minutes for Naruto to show up then they would be leaving.

Soon enough, her time was up and with a small sigh of exasperation she turned from the village and walked out the gates with her sensei. Luckily for her she turned back to look at the village one last time, managing to catch a glimpse of a lone Shinobi standing up on a rooftop. He was clad in the classic ANBU uniform of slate-grey body armour and black underclothing with his tiger-themed mask glinting in the sunlight. He waved once before vanishing in a burst of speed reminiscent of a red blur. The sight made Anko smile warmly as she turned back to the road ahead of her.

"Alright Sensei, where to first?" Orochimaru just hissed happily at his prized student's enthusiasm as he looked out over the horizon.

"I have some contacts in the land of rice I must meet up with Anko-chan." The purple-haired girl simply nodded happily as the two Shinobi walked away from their village.

* * *

Naruto flew down a narrow corridor, ignoring the cracked and peeling wallpaper on the old and termite-ridden wooden walls. His feet made audible splashes as he sprinted across the water-covered floor behind his Hokage. To his left was a bird-masked ANBU operative he had never worked with before, but by the sword on his back and the many Shuriken dotted around his person, he could tell he was a weapons specialist. Naruto wasn't sure how much that was going to help them here, but the ANBU were currently spread quite thin.

His gaze flickered back to Hiruzen running in front of him; it was so rare nowadays to see the aging Hokage in his full battle-dress. The old samurai-styled armour was still as freshly polished as the day Sarutobi had first worn it. The old man had lovingly cared for the reminder of past days as much as any ninja would their weapons. The fact he was wearing it at all was a testament to the importance and seriousness of their mission, especially considering who it concerned.

They stopped in front of a mildew-covered door, he and the ANBU taking up flanking positions while the Third took point. With a hand signal the two masked Shinobi burst through the door into the room while Hiruzen followed in a slow and deliberate walk. The room itself was lined in shelves holding jars that contained various viscera and other object Naruto would have rather not thought about. At the front of the small room stood a tall pale man with long black hair in the standard garb of a Konoha Jounin.

"Ahh, so I've been found out have I? What a pity..." Naruto's skin crawled at the man's voice; he had seen firsthand what he had done at his other bases across the Land of Fire.

"Orochimaru, explain yourself! What is the meaning of this?" Naruto found his hand unconsciously flexing against the hilt of his tanto as he waited.

"...and after I set all those booby traps to give me plenty of warning." Naruto nearly scoffed at that, the snake Sannin considered himself a master of seals but the redhead was an Uzumaki, there was no comparison. "Heh, I wasn't expecting you, I should have known. You could get past anything..." The other ANBU operative in the room stepped forward, his hand clenched in obvious anger even though his voice remained level.

"A steady flow of people have gone missing from the village over the past month, Genin, Chuunin, even ANBU black ops; all of them were last seen with you." Naruto clenched his fists again, his body ever so slightly trembling from rage but he managed to hold back. Orochimaru just chuckled light-heartedly, as if he wasn't being called out for crimes against his village.

"Aww, now I'll have to kill you as well."

The other operative gasped as Hiruzen's eyes narrowed in anger and betrayal. "So you admit it! It is all your doing Orochimaru, but why?"

Orochimaru sighed in a bored way with that same smirk on his lips, finally turning to face the three Shinobi. "Ah well, since you caught me red handed there's no point in pretending now is there?"

Orochimaru paused as he turned to fully face his former sensei, the weak light of the room only highlighting his sickly features. Even his yellow snake-like eyes seemed to glow lightly in the darkness of the room. "It's simply my research. I'm developing a new jutsu."

Naruto finally couldn't hold back any longer, the man in front of him was sick. "No kind of jutsu is worth the lives you destroyed you sick snake!"

The snake Sannin turned to the masked redhead with an almost mirthful smile. "I was wondering when little Naruto-kun was going to speak up, maybe a fox had your tongue?" he laughed briefly at his own joke, meeting the frigid gazes of his opponents.

Hiruzen looked down at the ground in despair over his fallen pupil. "It's forbidden Jutsu you're after, isn't it? But what is it you want? Why are you doing this?" Orochimaru tore his gaze away from Naruto to stare smugly at Hiruzen, an almost maniacal gleam overtaking his eyes, smiling at his teacher's heavy words.

"I want everything! Every jutsu in the world! And even those yet to be discovered. I shall become all knowing and all powerful."

Naruto stepped forward in anger, his tanto already drawn and at the ready. "You're crazy! That's impossible, even if you manage to learn all the jutsu, what about bloodlines? You'll never get your slimy hands on those. You'll never have everything!"

Orochimaru snarled in the redhead's direction before his face managed to return to his more neutral smirk. "Maybe you're right Naruto-kun, maybe if I were a weak fool like Sensei." He added, "But with time there comes possibility. And I plan on having all the time in the world to find all the techniques and knowledge I want. Eventually, I will have what I desire."

He took a step forward causing both members of ANBU to step in front of their Hokage while Hiruzen himself raised his hands ready for hand signs. "But what are you going to do Sensei? Kill me?" Naruto stepped forward with his blade raised up at eye-level.

"If he doesn't then I will, you bastard!"

Orochimaru leered as he brought his own hands up in preparation, a wicked, warped laugh filling the bunker.

"Ah ah ah Naruto-kun! Your voice is so sweet, so full of disgust and confusion. You would be amusing to play with, but will you find my precious Anko-chan, I wonder? Do you have time to waste with me?" Naruto growled beneath his mask as he took another step forward just as Hiruzen slammed the floor. The flash of smoke was all the distraction Naruto needed as he sprinted forward, seemingly disappearing from the spot before materialising behind Orochimaru. The Sannin paid him almost no attention as he flipped through hand signs almost tauntingly slowly.

Before Naruto could land a hit, the air around Orochimaru exploded outwards, shattering the various jars along the walls and ending with Naruto shooting across the room to impact painfully with the far wall, his body crunching. His body left an imprint in the rotten wood, holding him up despite his aching muscles' protests, splinters piercing into his back. By the time he managed to get to his feet again Orochimaru was already out the door, the other ANBU operative dead on the floor while Hiruzen just watched, frozen in place.

"Hokage-sama, Orders!" When Hiruzen didn't respond, Naruto gritted his teeth and ran past the aging Hokage, sprinting through the corridor they had entered by. He was too late though, by the time he jumped up the stone stairs leading into the complex, Orochimaru was long gone. Naruto desperately looked around him, almost absently dismissing the various dead ANBU members lying on the ground around the entrance.

He fell to his knees, staring down at the blood-stained ground as his hands clenched into fists so hard he began to draw blood from his palm. '_Anko.'_ He wanted to say her name, but his voice was lost to him. A great ache pulled at his senses, his whole body tingling with the desire to run. But to where? Where was she?

* * *

Naruto grunted slightly as he pulled roughly on his Tanto, ripping it out of the body lying on the ground. He cursed under his breath as he looked around the small lab he was in, content to let the small rivulets of blood drip lazily down the length of his short-sword. He narrowed his eyes as he looked down on Amachi's dead body, the man's formerly silver hair stained by the growing pool of blood beneath him.

"Damn bastard."

The man had caused him and his team nothing but trouble since they arrived in the land of Sea. They had been called out because of rumours saying one of Orochimaru's bases was out here. Currently, the leaf Shinobi were stretched rather thin, so, Naruto had personally asked for the mission, as well as a few fellow ANBU that were available. He sighed as one of his teammates dropped down next to him, a young man with jet black hair and a mask with a depiction of a rabbit.

It was disconcerting working without Shisui or Itachi but due to the flexible nature of ANBU missions and duties it was rare for the three of them to be assigned to the same mission, not that they didn't make time to hang out or train together. He turned to the other operative, staring at them through his tiger mask with a blank, expectant expression. It was amazing how much you picked up on body language when everybody you worked with wore masks almost constantly.

"Yes Usagi?" The ANBU quickly nodded, his posture and stance purely professional, it spoke of experience within the organisation.

"We've scoured the entire base, all of Orochimaru's research notes that weren't destroyed are being collected and the human test subjects have been released to their families." Naruto nodded grimly, it was sickening what Amachi had been doing in the base, experimenting on live people.

"And...?" he left the question hanging in the air as the ANBU in front of him sighed slowly; it was no secret to the personal mission Naruto had set himself on ever since confronting Orochimaru with the Hokage.

"I'm sorry Tora, there's no sign of her." Naruto said nothing but his hand clenching into a tight fist was words enough. This was the fourth base they had taken down and he was no closer to finding Anko than he had been before.

"Thank you, we'll meet up in a few hours and head back to the leaf to make our report." Usagi nodded quickly before vanishing in a whirl of leaves leaving Naruto to his thoughts as he looked around the now empty lab.

_'Dammit Anko, where are you?'_

* * *

**A/N: This is just clarification, just in case; Naruto Shisui and Itachi are not in Root, they are part of the ANBU corp.**


	10. New Problems

The trio of ANBU were jumping through the tall trees on the small island in the direction of the coast to charter a boat back to the mainland. The atmosphere was quite tense within the group; after what they had seen inside the base, none were in the mood for talking. Naruto especially was quiet, it was strange for his temporary teammates; throughout his first year in ANBU Naruto and Shisui were always the ones trying to make conversation. Suddenly the redhead stopped in a branch ahead of them, forcing them both to come to a rest next to him.

"What is it Tora?" Naruto just looked left out over the beach with slightly narrowed eyes; it was fading but there was a barely visible trial of footprints leading out over the sand.

"I don't know, we might as well check it out though." His two teammates looked between themselves uncertainly but nodded all the same. Naruto had been put in charge of this mission and as uncomfortable as the two experienced ANBU were with being led by an twelve year old kid, there was no mistaking Naruto's abilities. They took off, quickly racing across the beach while leaving barely any trace of their existance.

Finally they caught a glimpse of a lone figure, limping painfully across the sand of the beach, clutching their shoulder. Naruto's heart raced as his eyes widened behind the mask; they had their purple hair done up in a spiky pineapple style. With a gasp Naruto vanished from in front of his teammates, causing them to fault for a moment before they saw him reappear next to the lone person, catching them just as they collapsed from exhaustion. When they caught up Naruto was gently rocking Anko in his lap, a single tear of happiness managing to roll out from behind his mask.

_'I found you.'_

* * *

Anko hated waking up in hospitals. The pure odor of anesthetics and anti-bacterial sprays always burned in her nose and irritated her eyes. There was also the pain from the reason why she was in the hospital, on that day it was a dull but constant throb from behind her left shoulder. With a groan she managed to open her eyes only to immediately close them again as she was assaulted by the horrifically sterile whites of her hospital room. She tried again, more slowly this time, and tried to sit up against the protests of her sore and tired body. The aches just intensified as she struggled.

Surprisingly as soon as she did so she felt a gentle but firm hand push her back down again. After a moment of natural subconscious resistance the tired girl relented and allowed the oddly warm hand to guide her head back onto the pillow. She tried opening her eyes again, this time meeting some success as she caught sight of an all too familiar mop of red hair. She could have almost laughed from the absurdity and for more than a few moments after that she thought she was hallucinating.

"Anko don't move, the doctor told me to tell you to stay still if you woke up." Of course hearing his voice for herself had her immediately trying to sit up again, straining her bleary and tired eyes to see him.

"Naruto?" She heard a small chuckle before once again she was pressed back down onto the reasonably comfortable hospital bed.

"What did I just tell you?" Anko managed a small laugh of her own as she settled back down with an equally humourless groan of discomfort. Immediately, she felt the bed shift as Naruto stood back up from where he had been perched, instead settling in the chair to her left. Finally she managed to open her eyes and see something other than fuzzy or swimming shapes dance across her vision. Instantly, she turned towards his voice, only to blink in confusion.

She had been right about the shock of red hair she had seen and she knew that its spiky and wild design could only belong to one person. However the Naruto sitting in the chair next to her, if it even was him, was nothing like the one she had left behind all that time ago. Two years had changed the redhead she knew and she had a feeling it wasn't just physically. However he had definitely grown, filling out from his previous four foot nine inches into a decent five foot two. His hair had grown out, becoming spikier and shaggier and from what he could tell his bangs had also lengthened, quite adequately framing his face.

It was difficult to get anything else though due to the ANBU porcelain mask covering his features. She was surprised he would wear it around her; however upon thought she hadn't ever seen him take it off except for when he was at home before she left. Aside from that, she could also see he had kept up with his training, the fruits of which could now be seen in his firmly toned, tightly-coiled, but still lithe frame. Lastly, he had the ANBU tattoo conspicuously imprinted on his right bicep, something that hadn't been there before her departure. She chuckled again weakly before flopping back down onto the bed.

"You look-" an unsteady breath, "-different." Even she was slightly annoyed by how weak her voice sounded right then, it was hoarse and dry which was pretty much how her aching, constricted throat felt anyway. Taking the hint Naruto quickly got her a glass of water from a nearby pitcher which she thankfully downed in a few long gulps. He watched her for a moment before sighing and leaning back further into the chair.

"I can't say the same for you Anko."

He was partially right at least; other than growing taller Anko had never really seen fit to change her style under Orochimaru's apprenticeship. Fishnet stockings cinched tightly up her smooth legs to her usual beige shorts and dark navy t-shirt. However, to the more trained eye the rewards for her own training over that time were also visible in the way her legs and arms pinched or sloped inwardly in places, but not in a way that would alert anybody but with the most trained eye to her position as a rather deadly Kunoichi.

"Shut up."

They both shared a laugh as Anko playfully punched her oldest friend in the shoulder, only to wince as her own immediately began to burn. Immediately recoiling on herself and grasping the offending spot in pain she could only bite her lip to stop a pained gasp coming from her mouth. Naruto could only look on in surprise and helplessness as Anko hunched over in pain, still clutching what he had at first assumed to be a tattoo, only to now see it glowing and pulsating a dangerous orange aura.

"Anko!" He was right by her side sitting hip to hip in an instant, looking over the mark in an attempt to see what was wrong. When he got no response he shook her shoulders to get her attention only for Anko to immediately recoil from him, her arm lashing out on instinct, her nails findinghis mask. There was silence in the room for a moment as Anko stared first at Naruto, then at her own hands in horror. Likewise Naruto could only blink in shock as he brought his hand up to his mask, feeling the four thin lines Anko's nails had gouged through the material.

"Naruto, I..." she couldn't continue and her voice sounded small and meek, still not quite believing any of this was real, refusing to. She gulped audibly as Naruto brought his hand back down, only to immediately clasp both of them over the one Anko was still staring at, horrified. His hands were warm beneath the soft finger-less gloves of his ANBU uniform and even though Anko initially pulled away from him he held on firmly.

"Anko, look at me." It took her a moment but eventually the young Kunoichi managed to tear her eyes away from the hand so tightly clasped over her own. She stared into his expressionless mask, idly noting the way the whisker marks that denoted it as the tiger mask reflected the ones he hid behind it. He moved a hand away from their small contact and gently removed his mask, finally allowing her to see his face. She stared at his deep purple eyes for a few seconds, neither of them saying anything before her entire body shook from a violent sob.

She hadn't even noticed the tears trailing down her face until Naruto carefully brushed one from her cheek. The effect of the contact was instant, all the familiarity and nostalgia from his face broke down all the walls she had. A few moments later she was sobbing herself into a fitful sleep against Naruto's strong chest. In turn the redhead gently wrapped his arms around the crying girl, unsure what to do in a situation like this but finding his arms moving on instinct anyway. He stayed like that for at least ten minutes, until he was certain Anko was asleep, before he very carefully slid her back onto the hospital bed.

He took one last unobstructed look at her sleeping form before placing his mask back on and vanishing in a blur of red.

* * *

"Mission accomplished Hokage-sama." Hiruzen nodded once from behind steepled fingers before leaning back in his old leather chair with an audible creak.

"Good work Tora; I take it there were no complications?" It wasn't really a question, even if he phrased it as such. With Naruto there weren't complications, not on any mission he had been on during his time in the ANBU. It was why the rest of the operatives looked forward to being on a squad with him; they almost treated him like a lucky charm.

"Well, actually Hokage-sama..." That alone had the elderly man quirking a single eyebrow, although years of experience told him this day would have to come eventually. The fact that Naruto seemed unusually hesitant about the subject also had him slightly on edge. It made him wonder if his old student had been sighted before dismissing it instantly; that was the type of thing that got reported the minute the team was back in the village, if not by messenger hawk.

"What is it?" Naruto struggled with the answer for a moment, a tiny smile adorning his concealed features.

"It's Anko, Hokage-sama. We found her." Hiruzen let out a small sigh of relief, not that anybody in the office could hear the minuscule reaction.

"That seems like very good news, but why so hesitant to tell me?" The hidden smile behind the whiskered mask twisted into fetid frown as the young redhead's eyes narrowed.

"It seems that Orochimaru did _something_ to Anko during their training trip. He left some kind of awful Mark on her shoulder, possibly a seal, that causes her pain." Hiruzen sat back in the chair again with another, more audible sigh.

"I see..." Internally the older man was much more worried than his outward appearance would have anybody believe. "...well, when Jiraiya is next in the village I can have him take a look." Very much out of character for Naruto he quickly raised a hand to quiet the older Hokage in a way that he hoped wasn't too disrespectful.

"If I may Hokage-sama, I would appreciate it if I could handle this issue personally; if it is a seal then I believe I would be much better suited to dealing with it." Hiruzen eyed the young ANBU operative critically, the youngest they ever had in the village, before shaking his head slowly.

"I'm truly sorry Tora-san, as much as I do not doubt your abilities I would feel better knowing somebody with more experience dealt with this before it becomes a potential threat to the village." Hiruzen's eyes narrowed slightly further when he noticed Naruto's hand clench into a tight fist.

"_Hokage-sama..._" Sarutobi couldn't help but notice the way Naruto stressed his title through gritted teeth "...Anko is not a threat to this village, she is a Kunoichi." The Hokage nodded serenely as he turned to the left, looking out the window overlooking his village.

"I agree emphatically, but that mark on her body is another issue and until it is neutralised I have to look out for the best interests of the village." He sighed internally when Naruto's hands unclenched and his body language returned to that of his professional apathy, as was the norm in the ANBU corp. He just seemed entirely exhausted then, unable to look at his leader in the eye for some reason.

"Very well Hokage-sama, I will defer to your judgement." Hiruzen nodded sagely even as Naruto began to turn and leave the office; with a quick tap on the desk he halted the young Shinobi before he could go too far.

"Tora. You have my permission to come up with a method of removing this mark but you will not touch it before Jiraiya has a chance to look over it, am I understood?" Naruto didn't say anything but his frozen body spoke more than any words ever could. He nodded once before quickly hurrying out of the office and disappearing in his unique Shunshin.

* * *

Naruto pounded the desk in monstrous frustration, his fist knocking one of the many scattered scrolls on the surface to the floor. Each of them were filled with complicated sealing arrays and sketches, most of which stemmed from one simple illustration of the wicked mark currently adorning Anko's neck. He was agonizing over how little progress he had made; his heart pounding in the fingers that held his sealing brushes, muscles often spasming at the worst moments. At this rate he wouldn't have done enough to help Anko by the time Jiraiya was next in the village. Although knowing the habits of the famous toad sage, as all ANBU were required to, that could be anytime from the next day to a month from now.

All he had worked out so far was that each _tomoe_ of the mark in the _mitsudomoe_ design had a different purpose when expanded out. Like he had though it was a vast and complicated sealing array condensed down into a form that could easily be transferred onto a subject. He assumed that was what the two other, still not fully healed marks on her neck were; either from injections or much more worryingly, a bite mark.

One of the tomoe seemed to be a simple Chakra storage seal, although its design was beyond many things Naruto had ever seen, allowing for truly vast amounts of chakra to not only be stored, but be collected as well. That was where his limits were, he had no idea how such a thing was possible without a direct transfer of chakra into the seal, this one just seemed to absorb it from who knew where. There was also something about it he couldn't understand, something about the intake array that confused him but he couldn't quite place.

The next tomoe of the seal was completely beyond him; it seemed more like a Fuinjutsu version of an intravenous drip in his opinion. Unfortunately he couldn't find out exactly what would be injected into the system, luckily, that part didn't seem to be active at the moment which was a small relief. Still, it was obvious to him that knowledge of sealing wouldn't be enough when it came to Orochimaru's handiwork, he would need a medical ninja with him when the time came to remove the seal.

Finally, and most horrifically in Naruto's opinion, the last tomoe of the seal was more than obvious to the young redhead. He had seen many versions of the inner workings before in slave camps and even some prison institutes like Hōzukijō. It was designed to send enormous amounts of electricity directly through the mark-bearer's nervous system with the application of a certain hand seal. It was also coded directly to Orochimaru's chakra through a small amount stored within the first tomoe.

Eventually, too tired and irritated to fret over his total inability to help his friend, Naruto pushed away from his desk, leaving his scattered workings for tomorrow. He ran a hand through his unruly hair as a sigh escaped his mouth before standing up and lurching towards the door. He blinked, not realizing just how tired he was until now, and moved lazily through the house towards his room. He stopped however just outside of Anko's room where he could easily hear her moving about, despite knowing she was still asleep.

He was thankful the doctors had let him take her home, despite some of their protests. There was nothing physically wrong with her asides from slight exhaustion and there was nothing they could do about the curse mark any more than Naruto could. Still tired, but now worried about his friend and tenant, he slowly opened her door a crack to make sure she was okay. He could only look on in sadness as he saw her bed, soaked in sweat, with a writhing Anko rolling about on top of her disorganized sheets that had become unbound from her body at some point.

With a long sigh, he walked in quietly, padding across the floorboards until he was looking over her pained and frightened form. He placed a hand on her cold and sweaty shoulder and the effects were immediate. She stopped moving, her breathing calmed and the frightened mask that was her face settled into a more neutral, but still slightly pained expression. Naruto smiled, glad that he could help at least a little, before he carefully manoeuvred Anko's body until the sheets were back over her form.

He stood up to leave again but a hand firmly holding onto his wrist didn't allow him to. He looked back around to see Anko staring back at him with half-lidded eyes, her mind still deep within the realms of sleep. Noting that it was only reflexive Naruto attempted to prise Anko's hand off his arm, only for her to pull him even more intently towards her. Still half-awake her other hand sought out his body and reluctantly he allowed her to grab his other hand, once again pulling his body towards her.

With another small, but not wholly unwelcome sigh he resigned himself to being Anko's comfort toy as she pulled him the rest of the way into her bed. Only half-conscious, she securely wrapped her arms around the warm and soft object she had found in her slightly delirious state. Anko was sweaty and her skin was slightly clammy from the cold night air but even so, Naruto couldn't help but feel comfortable in that embrace, with his friends arms wrapped around him. On instinct he pulled her a little closer, an action the girl didn't seem to mind in the slightest if her contented sigh was anything to go on, and wrapped his arms around her slimmer frame in turn.

"It's okay Anko. It's going to be okay now." His only response was a small whimper that was lost to the silence and darkness of the small room.

* * *

"So, you're Jiraiya?" The large man standing in front of him simply grinned, his eyebrows wiggling almost comically.

"The one and only! Although I am known around the nations by many names, I prefer the much more humble toad sage of Mt. Myoboku! The mighty and inexhaustible..." his eyebrows wiggled again in that same manner even though he now seemed to be looking into what Naruto could only think of as the foreground "...the gallant, JIRAIYA!" Naruto simply gave him a blank look, not that it was really required from behind his mask.

"Right..." He did his best to keep himself straight-faced. No need to antagonize the only person who could help them. To his left, Anko was giving the strange man an equally exasperated if barely-subdued look, her eye twitching in irritation.

"Aren't you that pervert that always gets the crap beaten out of him by the hot springs?" Jiraiya just laughed in an off-handed manner, waving his hands in a well-practised placating manner as he turned his attention to the young Kunoichi.

"So you're Anko Mitarashi, my old teammate's apprentice." Everybody in the room could immediately feel the temperature drop. To his relief, Anko managed to show some rare restraint and settled for just glaring at the white-haired pervert. "Alright then, let me take a look at the seal." The blinks of confusion were almost audible as Jiraiya's attitude became surprisingly serious. Anko was so surprised by the change she simply complied without a word of protest, turning around and pulling down her shirt slightly to reveal the curse mark.

Jiraiya took his time studying the mark, his hand resting against his chin in thought as his eyes skimmed over every detail with a professional gaze. Finally, he looked up, seemingly having a silent conversation with his sensei with just their eyes communicating. He took a step back with a sigh that had Naruto and Anko immediately worried.

"I would have to open up the seal and have a more in-depth look to be sure, but at a precursory glance, I can't remove this." He shook his head tiredly at the gazes of shock and disappointment he received from Naruto and Anko respectively. "The best I can do is place a restriction seal around it, but even that would be purely determined by your will not to use the mark." At this point Naruto's eyes was convulsing and he had never been more thankful for his mask hiding his face. A_ restriction seal_?! He could have done that!

"Unfortunately, my old teammate seems to be living up to his praises as a genius, he has somehow worked in some very complicated medical Ninjutsu into the seal. I couldn't remove it if I tried." He looked up in thought, staring out the window forlornly. "Maybe if Tsunade were here..." he sighed before shaking his head; both he and his sensei knew that was a lost cause. "Anyway, the good news is that the whole array seems benign, Orochimaru can't activate unless he is nearby." Anko's fists were clenched shut at this point and her whole body was shaking slightly.

"What the hell kind of good does that do me!? How the hell am I supposed to get back at that bastard if I can't even get near him?! And what the hell do you mean _benign_? I can't get to sleep at night for hours because of this thing!" A single tear was rolling angrily down her rage-filled face; Jiraiya could only sigh in defeat.

"I'm sorry, but there's nothing I can do." Anko was just about ready to lash out at the man before a firm hand caught her wrist. She just looked around at Naruto in confusion before sighing and hanging her head in defeat. At that moment Naruto stepped forward, eyeing Jiraiya carefully as the older Sannin did the same to him.

"You're wrong." Jiraiya just raised an eyebrow in amusement at the stoic ANBU questioning him.

"Oh really? About what?" Naruto just stood there impassively, not giving even the slightest hints he had a reaction. If his ANBU captain had seen him then, staring down a Sannin, he would have been proud; at least before he asked the Sannin for an autograph.

"Even if you can't remove the seal entirely due to the chemical contained in one of the tomoe, you could still do more than just restrict it." Jiraiya chuckled rather obnoxiously, laughing as if nothing he said could be wrong.

"Listen _kid_, you're a few years short of questioning my decisions when it comes to sealing, let the grown-ups handle this." Again, Naruto remained impassive, ignoring the man's jibe in favour of pulling out a scroll from his back pouch and handing it over. Jiraiya took it with another amused smirk before glancing it over briefly. Even a small check showed him it was filled nearly to the brim with various sealing designs and arrays, none of which he could spot any problems or faults with.

That would be what most people saw, however Jiraiya was not most people, he was a sealing master. He instantly spotted the unmistakable signs of Uzumaki techniques, having had the privilege of learning a few from Minato, and indirectly Kushina. Before he could read much more Naruto quickly took the scroll back off him without a word and replaced it in his pouch, right next to the one that would explode rather violently if opened; each looking identical of course.

"Well kid, as impressive as all that was, you still don't have my experience, especially when it comes to Orochimaru. Trust me, you don't want to go messing around with his handiwork; he's the type to cover his tracks extremely well." Naruto said nothing, stepping back to where he had been standing originally. Hiruzen just sighed deeply, leaning further back in his chair as he contemplated the options before him.

"Well in that case I'll have to allow Jiraiya to place the restriction seal, in any case..."

"Wait!" All three other occupants of the room turned to Anko with some modicum of surprise. "If he..." she pointed to Naruto, knowing better than to say his name while he wore the mask "...says he can remove the seal then I want him to try." Jiraiya looked somewhat offended; however that same offense seemed too exaggerated to be genuine so Anko did not relent. Hiruzen in the other hand, looked at Anko more critically. His pipe moving to the other side of his mouth in momentary thought, he gave her a glazed look, "Really Anko-chan..."

A slight shiver went up the girl's spine as she remembered all the times her 'sensei' would call her that "...Jiraiya is the village's _foremost_ expert when it comes to seals and while Tora-san is particularly adept, I am more inclined to defer to Jiraiya's judgement." He shot a small apologetic look at Naruto who didn't even turn his head.

"I don't care. If it means getting this damn thing off I'll do anything!" Nobody could see but there was a small smirk of victory adorning Naruto's features, partly at being chosen over a Sannin and partly at seeing some of Anko's old fire back in her attitude. Sarutobi stared at Anko a little longer, weighing everything up in his mind.

"I'm not going to be able to change your mind on this am I?" Anko just shook her head with a slight defiant smirk and Hiruzen could already feel the oncoming headache. "Very well, I leave the removal or sealing of the mark up to you Anko, unless it becomes a hazard to the village, then I will have to take action." Anko nodded once in understanding; Jiraiya seemed like there was more he wanted to say but he kept his mouth closed until he could speak with his sensei in private. On the way out the white-haired Sannin caught Naruto's arm, turning him slightly so he could look right into his masked face.

"I hope you know what you're doing, kid." Behind the mask Naruto's eyes narrowed and he quickly slipped his arm out of the hold.

"I would never do anything to harm Anko." Jiraiya just sighed as he allowed the young man to leave.

"Maybe not intentionally..." His parting words were left unheard as Naruto had already disappeared in a blur of red, taking Anko with him. The older man sighed deeply to himself as he turned around to his sensei, the much older man blissfully blowing out a thin stream of smoke from his pipe. "I don't understand how you can be so calm, sensei. A kid that young? He could kill her if he gets the sealing wrong." Hiruzen just continued to puff on his pipe, his gaze absently wandering to the window where he could look out of the village.

"You should have more faith in him Jiraiya. Maybe if you were around more you would better understand his abilities." Jiraiya sighed with a small smirk.

"Not this conversation again sensei! You know how busy I am with the spy network; I always have to be moving if I want to catch any leads on Orochimaru. Plus, I _still_ have to find the child of prophecy the great toad sage spoke of." Jiraiya looked down sadly, he had put all his hopes into Minato, the once in a generation genius that he was lucky to find. He looked up again in thought, idly gazing out the same window as his aged sensei.

"Do you think the boy would object to going on a training trip with me? I could really hone his sealing abilities, maybe pass on a few of my techniques and maybe even the toad contact?" Hiruzen shook his head slowly, finally looking away from the village and back to his desk.

"I do not know Jiraiya, but if he finds out you are his godfather..." he left the sentence hanging knowing full well it would remind Jiraiya of another particular redhead's temperament. Jiraiya got the message and gulped loudly, absently rubbing a spot on his side that was the result of a peeping he would never forget.

"Yeah, well, I guess you're right."

Hiruzen merely shrugged, already sorting through the mess of papers on his desk.

"I never said he would object, just that you had better be ready to face the consequences." Jiraiya nodded with a small frown before simply vanishing in his usual manner. He decided to place the problem to the back of his mind for now, maybe he could find the child of prophecy yet; he just had to maintain his faith.

* * *

Anko was surprisingly quiet as the two of them walked through the streets of Konoha towards the Namikaze estate. Naruto kept taking glances at her from behind his mask but she just kept her gaze low and pensive.

"Were you serious back there?" if Naruto hadn't been standing right next to her he might have missed her voice it came out so meek.

"Of course." Anko just nodded, reaffirming her choice in her mind; she believed that if Naruto said he could remove the mark then he could do it.

"You better. If you don't I'll kick your ass myself." They both chuckled, or at least Anko did, Naruto just vaguely shook his shoulders; he was still an ANBU after all.

"I'd like to see you try! Just because you've been on a training trip doesn't mean you're at my level yet." Anko raised an amused eyebrow, thankful for the diversion from her darkening thoughts.

"Big words. Care to back them up?" Naruto smiled broadly behind the mask as he picked up the pace slightly; using long strides that Anko couldn't quite match.

"If you think you can keep up." He immediately disappeared in a red blur with Anko hot on his heels in a leaf Shunshin that had a little extra impact than usual. The sound of her echoing laughter caused a few civilians in the street to turn their heads only to see the settling leaves in her wake.

* * *

Shisui sighed happily as he walked through the streets in the direction of his friend's house. He had just gotten back from a long mission outside of the village and it felt good to be out of his stifling uniform. He especially hated the mask; while his two best friends took quite well to the emotionless, stoic appeal of the ANBU, he wasn't quite as comfortable. He now had a better idea of why so few people did more than five years in the organisation; something like that for too long could mess with your head.

He entered Naruto's back garden through the side gate; he could usually find the redhead here either training or just enjoying the sun. He was surprised then to find his friend crouched in the centre of his training field in a ready stance, his eyes carefully scanning his surroundings. Shisui had no idea who he could be sparring with. Itachi was still on a mission and he only sparred with other ANBU operatives in their special training grounds.

Suddenly, four snakes erupted from the ground all around the redhead, immediately crashing into the lone Namikaze. Shisui was shocked for a moment, not understanding at all what was going on; at least until 'Naruto' burst into a cloud of smoke. Not soon after he heard a grunt of pain and a purple blur was thrown into the middle of the field from the tree line. He was even more shocked when the figure revealed herself to be Anko, an older Anko than the last time he saw her.

"Hey! You said you wouldn't use Shadow clones!" Shisui turned to see a chuckling Naruto emerge from the same area Anko had been thrown from. He was still wearing the standard ANBU uniform and body armour but had removed his tanto and mask.

"And the fact that you believed me shows you still aren't ready for me to take you seriously." He said it with a jesting smirk but Shisui could tell the comment got to Anko if her scowl told him anything. However it was immediately covered up with a devious smirk as she walked closer to Naruto. The redhead immediately tensed in a subtle way that would allow him to react to anything Anko threw at him. However he was definitely not expecting her to suddenly grab his shoulder and pull him towards her so she could plant her lips firmly on his own.

Both Naruto and Shisui could only stare, wide-eyed, as Anko deepened the kiss; the redhead's body went slack from the shock. That was the exact opportunity Anko used to squarely knee Naruto in the side making him double over in pain. She quickly flipped over his body, lashing out again with her foot to catch him on the other side before pulling him back and holding a kunai to his throat.

"Or maybe you're not ready for me to take you seriously if you'd fall for a ploy like that."

The redhead in her hold blinked one last time before gaining a smirk of his own.

"Wrong again." Anko cursed as once again the Naruto she had captured burst into a cloud of smoke. At this point Shisui was still not comprehending what was going on, his mind was having trouble rebooting.

"_Anko_?" The Kunoichi turned cautiously at the familiar voice before her eyes settled on one of her other friends.

"Shisui!" Said boy suddenly found himself in a bone crushing hug that actually lifted him off his feet for a moment before the overly-energetic girl set him down again and parted.

"Oh, are we done?" it was Naruto who spoke, emerging from the tree line again from a different position, as if he had been there the whole time. Knowing Naruto the way Shisui did, he probably had.

"Naruto? What's going on? When did Anko get back?" Naruto simply responded with a warm smile aimed at both of them.

"Come on, I'll explain it all inside." Shisui nodded dumbly before following the two of them into the house, the reason for him coming over completely forgotten.


	11. New surprises

"Weird isn't it?" Shisui's whispered voice slightly echoed around the small clearing where three masked Shinobi could be seen seated around a small fire. Less noticeable was the ever so slightly effervescent glow of the seal array surrounding them. It both masked their presence from anybody who might stumble upon them while at the same time protecting them from somebody powerful enough to see through the barrier.

"What?" Naruto looked up from his meal of warmed rations; it definitely wasn't his favourite but there generally wasn't much option for food out on a mission, especially for ANBU. Unlike regular Shinobi of the hidden villages, ANBU weren't allowed to simply walk into other towns or villages in their uniforms and removal of their masks on duty was strictly prohibited.

"Well, when was the last time us three were sent on a mission together, especially without Inu-Taichou?" Itachi just nodded his head once, seeming more in thought that his two comrades.

"I don't know why you're complaining Tori; I thought you would be happy to have the team back together?" Shisui nodded slowly with a small smile behind his mask; in truth he was happy. Only seeing his friends in training and between missions had become too tiresome; he missed the thrill of working alongside his two best friends.

"Yeah, you're right; never mind." Naruto just smiled and returned to eating his food; never once removing his mask which never ceased to amaze Anko when he did it at home. It was a skill all ANBU learned at some point or another, purely for the convenience it afforded them. Even so, the redhead began to think about Shisui's words' it was true the three of them had never actually gone on a mission all together during their time in ANBU. To do so now, without their captain nonetheless, certainly was strange.

"We should get moving again." Itachi's calm voice interrupted both his musings and his dinner and with quite bit of grumbling from his Bird and Tiger-masked friends, the three of them packed their dinner, destroyed their presence in the clearing and shot off into the trees. Never once did they notice the set of steel grey eyes watching them from the shadows.

* * *

Deep in the Land of Rain there is a large field, famous for Shinobi as the place where the Fourth Kazekage, the fourth Hokage and the third Tsuchikage all met to discuss the end of the Third Shinobi war. It was a miserable place, barren and lifeless from the copious amount of blood spilled across its muddy ground. Rain poured ceaselessly from the darkened sky and not a single iota of healthy plant life could be spotted anywhere in sight.

It was here that Itachi, Shisui and Naruto all appeared via their typical methods of Shunshin. All three of them gazed around the place with a sigh, knowing full well the reputation of the land they were standing in. It wasn't long before they were joined by three more blurs which quickly resolved into men in similar attire to their own. They too wore the staple animal mask of a hidden village's ANBU as well as the grey body armour that marked them above regular Shinobi.

"Good, you arrived; we were beginning to think you Konoha dogs wouldn't show up." The blatant slur was completely ignored by the three stoic leaf ninja; instead Naruto simply opted to pull the large scroll of his back, planting it on the ground with a small thud.

"Do you have the prisoner?" His voice was cold and purely professional which elicited a grin from the leader of the opposing Shinobi, not that it went seen behind his mask.

"We had heard you leaf ninja were cold but to see it firsthand..." he made a tutting noise with his teeth after a small chuckle escaped his mouth.

"Do you have the prisoner?" Naruto's voice never wavered, maintaining the perfect emotionless edge all ANBU were trained to use in situations like these. The leader of the other Ninja simply sighed irritable before motioning to one of his companions.

"Yeah yeah, jeez." The man to his right disappeared for a moment before returning with a limp form slung across his shoulders like a shepherd might carry one of his flock. "There's your guy, happy? Now show us our man!" His voice hitched slightly at the end in irritation and obvious anger but none of the leaf Shinobi acted on it. Instead Naruto simply unfurled the overly large scroll in one smooth motion, releasing the captive ninja inside with a burst of smoke. Before the slightly dazed man could do anything he had been grasped by Naruto and immediately had a Tanto held to his neck.

"W-What's going on?" The poor captive was too dazed to think clearly; one moment he had been in his cell, about to go to sleep, the next he was standing out in some Kami-forsaken field with the biting rain pouring down on him.

"Stay calm, we are trading you back to your forces in return for one of our own." The captive merely blinked in confusion again, his mind too muddled to properly take in the situation. The other ANBU seemed unfazed by the gleaming sword held to their comrade's throat; it was fairly standard procedure to keep the hostage from running.

"Alright! We'll release your Shinobi at the same moment you release ours!" All he got was a curt nod from Naruto who was more focused on keeping his blade no more than an inch from his captive's throat; when the man gulped he could feel the razor-sharp steel brush his neck. There was a moment of silence between the two groups before the ninja carrying the Leaf hostage began to walk forward at the same time Naruto did, still maintaining that inch of breathing room at all times. There was a moment when the ever-present noise of the rain seemed to dull for a moment as the two men passed one another.

"NOW!" Before anybody could blink the ninja walking forward raised his hand, simultaneously dropping the Leaf hostage on his shoulder. Naruto could do nothing as his Tanto was wrenched from his hand by an unseen force; the moment of confusion and hesitation was all it took for the enemy Shinobi to grab their hostage in one hand, throw him back towards their group and slash through the leaf hostage's throat in one fell swoop.

Naruto could only stare at the spray of crimson arcing through the air for a single second before he was forced to suddenly jump backwards to avoid meeting the same fate. He landed back between his comrades who had both taken ready stances, their individual Sharingan flaring behind their masks. He adopted a similar pose as they all glared at the group of enemy ninja in front of them; all of whom were now smirking in a mocking fashion behind their masks.

"What are you doing? Don't you know this could mean war between Konoha and Iwa?" Shisui's voice rang out clearly across the field, despite the pounding rain muffling everything else. Even now the three could only watch the steadily growing pool of blood beneath their comrade.

"Hah, finally got you to break those cool and collected masks did we? Whatever, it's not like anybody is going to find out about this once you three are all dead." Naruto settled back into his fighting stance; the oldest amongst the Iwa ninja immediately recognised it, his eyes swelling in eager fright.

"I know that stance! But that should be impossible- only one other man ever fought using that style-" He stared excitedly under his mask as his companions glared at him and Naruto strangely. "So, you're the damn flash's brat. Am I right?" He chuckled dryly behind his mask as he made a motion with his hand. "Oh, that just makes this all the better. Oh, I can't wait to make you scream my name." Immediately they were surrounded on all sides as ten more Iwa ANBU suddenly appeared from where they had been hiding underground. All of them just seemed to stare at the redhead incredulously, not quite believing they were really facing against the fourth's legacy.

"Guys, what do we do, we're good but not _that_ good." Shisui's voice was hushed so their opponents couldn't hear them.

Before any of them could reply the leader of the Iwa ANBU called out, "Hey! If you think we're just going to stand here and let you plan, then you sure do think us fools!" Immediately the back-up squadron of Iwa Shinobi leapt into action, rushing forward to cordon off the Leaf group before they could escape. Suddenly, all three of them became locked into a flurry as they were all ganged up on by at least four different ninja. Grey and black blurs filled the air, earth techniques slamming into the ground as Naruto, Shisui and Itachi duck and span.

Quickly the already muddy and desolate battlefield was transformed into a compacted war-zone as earth was uprooted and large gashes and trenches appeared across the ground. Naruto had managed to snatch one of the Tantos from an enemy ninja's back and was using it to deflect Kunai that seemed to come from everywhere around him. Normally he would have spared a glance at his comrades but he was sure he would only get hit if that happened.

He suddenly pivoted on one foot, only to slip slightly on the muddy ground; the slight stumble cost him as he felt the large slash from on his arm. He stifled a cry of pain as he jumped to the side, avoiding a more lethal gash that might have taken his head off. His grinning opponent didn't relent though, he just rushed forward again, intent on being the one who took out the Fourth Hokage's son. Meanwhile one of his companions was rushing through hand seals at an impossible pace.

"Earth release: Mudslide jutsu!" The already unforgiving terrain under his feet became a soupy quagmire and his feet were immediately taken out from under him, slimy flows threatening to bury him in neck-deep. It was only by sheer reflex he reached out with a hand, grabbing onto a nearby stretch of reasonable solid ground and using Chakra to anchor himself before pulling up. At the same moment he lashed out with his leg, catching one of the other ANBU who had been trying to get close and take him out with a long katana.

He landed back on solid ground but not without a wince, he had used his injured arm to soften his fall and was paying the price for it. His eyes widened as he suddenly dropped to the floor, narrowly avoiding the gleaming blade that passed inches over head. Using his momentum he rolled before springing back up, pulling his hands together painfully to quickly flash through hand seals in a moment of respite.

"Wind release: Gale Shuriken jutsu." All around him the wind coalesced into ten rotating blades of wind that immediately dispersed outwards with a blast of pressurized air. Most of his opponents dodged out of the way which caused Naruto to smirk behind his mask before leaping back from another precise attack, his hands never straying from the dog seal. The cries of pain rang out through the large battleground as the wind shuriken suddenly turned around mid-air, embedding themselves into three of Naruto's attackers. Unfortunately for him, they didn't hit any vital spots but at least now he wasn't the only one with an injury, their flesh torn and mangled along the outside of their legs and arms, impeding movement with pounding agony.

"Damn you Namikaze brat! Earth style: Devouring Earth Jutsu!" Suddenly the ground shook as large boulders ripped themselves from the earth, forming into an enormous maw that quickly tried to eat Naruto. He jumped away but the jutsu simply followed after him, clamping down around his body with a sickening crunch. One of the Iwa ANBU sighed in relief, glad that their fight was over relatively quickly. The sigh died in his mouth as they all heard a strange pulsating sound from behind them.

"Rasengan!" Before anybody could react Naruto suddenly appeared in their midst with a glowing sphere of blue energy. He slammed it into one of his faceless opponents, the sound of skin being torn and bones being grinded into dust echoing in everybody's ears. There was a moment of calm as Naruto stood there, panting from how fast he had to substitute with a seal-less shadow clone to pull that off.

"So you really are the fourth's kid." Naruto didn't answer as he looked at the man, simply dropping into a fighting stance and ignoring the pain in his arm.

* * *

Itachi wasn't faring much better; while his Sharingan allowed him to quite easily predict their movements and act accordingly, their sheer numbers were causing him problems. While one would attack from the front and draw his attention, another would attack him from a blind spot effectively countering the advantages the Sharingan gave him. While he had two of them under Genjutsu it proved difficult to do the same with their comrades as it took a lot of concentration to keep even that much up while fighting at the same time.

To make matters worse, every so often one would break off and free their friends by pulsing Chakra through their systems. Itachi was hard pressed to just keep ahead of his opponents and he couldn't even spare a passing thought to his friends, knowing they would have to just deal with it right now. He blocked another Tanto strike with his own before melting into a flock of crows, quickly encircling his attacker before having to break off to avoid his companion.

His normally stoic face was marred by a look of pure concentration he only ever took in his most heated spars with Naruto. Behind his mask his three-tomoe Sharingan spun erratically as he attempted to predict every one of his enemies' movements only to be blind sighted once again. He grunted in pain as he felt a slash through the back of his leg before he spun, lashing out with his blade to return the favour only to see his opponent jump away.

On reflex, he suddenly dropped to the ground, gulping slightly as an enormous ball of flame roared over his head. The heat alone made him sweat beneath his armour before it was swept away by the all encompassing rain. He dashed back to his feet, jumping away from another well-coordinated attack before racing through hand seals of his own.

"You call that a fireball? Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!" he finished with the Tiger seal and breathed out, expelling a concentrated stream of fire which quickly grew into an enormous sphere of pure flame, well over three times his own height. He sent it careening forward, digging out a small trench of earth in its wake. Three of his opponents all dodged out of the way, one of them getting slightly singed by his slow reaction. Their Genjutsu-controlled comrade wasn't so lucky; he took the Jutsu directly, his body being incinerated instantly.

Itachi panted slightly as he regained his breath, using the momentary pause in the fighting to once again eye up his opponents who only glared back with undisguised hatred.

"You'll pay for that Konoha scum!" Itachi did not respond as he rushed forward, Tanto gleaming in the weak light.

* * *

Shisui was just barely having an easier time, any time an enemy would get close enough to do damage he would disappear in a surging tornado of leaves, only to reappear right behind one of their unsuspecting comrades. Already his opponents were covered in light bruises and various cuts that were slowly eating at their stamina. That wasn't to say Shisui was _fine_ either, he was really exerting himself to keep up with so many highly-skilled opponents, his muscles protesting after several awkward, hurried maneuvers. They had quickly caught onto his abilities and were now keeping their distance, launching long-range jutsu at him from where he couldn't reach them easily.

He seemed to have drawn the short end of the stick as he found himself facing against the leader of the enemy ANBU group; the red patch on his mask identifying him as an ANBU captain. The fight was dragging on and as time passed Shisui felt more and more of his energy draining away while his opponents seemed hardly phased. He vanished again, hoping to surprise his opponent as he reappeared in mid-air, a usually impossible stunt using the Shunshin.

His plan failed though as he was forced to twist his body in mid-air to avoid a hail of Shuriken and kunai before he could even think about attacking the ANBU captain. He was forced back again, doing his best to dodge or deflect the weapons being sent his way. Every so often one would get past his defences, nicking his leg or scraping across his arm-guards. He stood back, panting with his Tanto held in front of him in a cross-guard, wondering why his assailants had suddenly stopped. The answer became quickly obvious as the rest of the Iwa ninja reappeared, throwing the tired and bloodied forms of Naruto and Itachi down on the ground in front of them.

"Surrender Konoha trash or your friends will die." Shisui's eyes widened behind his mask; he never would have thought his friends would be captured. In fact Shisui had always considered himself the weakest of the three, always trailing behind Naruto and Itachi in skill. To see them so defeated and helpless, it was paralyzing; the Uchiha could only gulp as he stood there, motionless.

"Didn't you hear me? I said surrender or we'll cut their throats!" As if to put that point across his friends were suddenly wrenched into kneeling positions, blades poised in front of their necks ready to end their lives. Shisui didn't know what to do; if he ran in his exhausted condition he would never get away before they caught him, plus he would never be able to live with himself. If he surrendered then they would all be taken captive and most likely tortured for any information they had. ANBU procedures dictated he should kill himself in this situation but they would still get Naruto and Itachi.

He stood there, trembling slightly with frustration and rage as his knuckles turned white from gripping his tanto too hard. He didn't know what to do, his mind raced at a mile a minute and his Sharingan spun wildly, unconsciously reshaping into a shape reminiscent of a four-pronged Shuriken. The enemy ANBU captain just smirked behind his mask, revelling in the indecision and pure fear of his enemy.

"Kotoamatsukami." It was barely a whisper, completely inaudible beneath the roar of the pouring rain smothering the field. However beneath his mask the enemy captain's eyes suddenly dilated, his body becoming unresponsive for a single moment before he returned to normal. His hand suddenly shot up, shocking the rest of his squad as he motioned for the two Leaf ANBU to be released.

"Let them go!" The other Iwa ninja only looked on in shock, none of them moving for a moment before the captain rounded on them angrily. "Didn't you hear me? I said release them!" A man to his left looked between his commander and the two prisoners who seemed equally amazed.

"But Taichou..." His voice was as unsure as the rest of them felt.

"But nothing, this is a direct order. We have what we came for now release them!" After a moment of indecision Itachi and Naruto were hesitantly released. The two quickly used the opportunity to race across to Shisui who continued to stare at the enemy captain with a level glare. "We're done here." He made another motion and the entire squad raced off back towards their own country.

"What the hell?" Naruto was just as confused as he stood there, watching the enemy ninja retreat from sight steadily. His concentration was wrecked though as Shisui suddenly wilted where he stood, swaying slightly before falling backwards. Naruto and Itachi caught him quickly and gently lowered him to the mud-covered ground before removing his mask. It was fleeting but both saw his Sharingan shift back from its strange pattern to the normal tri-tomoe design. As Shisui lost consciousness both his friends shared an uneasy look between them.

* * *

Later on, after the trio passed back into the safety of their own borders with Shisui and Naruto carrying an unconscious Shisui and the dead body of the captive they had been sent to retrieve, they made camp in a small out of the way clearing. After they got a fire going and had some food the two sat around the flickering flames in silence. Shisui lay off to one side with a blanket thrown over him for warmth while the body of the former-prisoner was sealed into the large scroll Naruto had brought.

"Taka what do you..." The stoic Uchiha raised a hand to motion for Naruto to be quiet. The raven-haired boy continued to stare into the dancing flames, the light reflecting off his Sharingan as they rotated lazily.

"I don't know Tora; I've never seen anything like it before." He sighed heavily before sitting back, using his forearms to prop up his body against the damp ground.

"He wouldn't keep this from us right?" Itachi shook his head slowly; it was really unlike Shisui to keep secrets from them, of any kind. It was an unspoken bond of trust between the three friends, they told each other everything. Naruto had already revealed he was the Jinchuuriki of the nine-tails; at first he was met with silence before Shisui managed to crack a joke about Naruto's stamina suddenly making sense.

"No, I'm sure he doesn't know any more about this than we do." Even though he sounded confident, inside he was pondering those words with unease.

"But what about that thing, he just looked at the guy and it was like he was controlling him." Itachi sighed as he leant back forwards, this time propping an arm on his knee.

"I really don't know, but..." he trailed off as he stared into the flames, unsure of how to proceed; while it was true they didn't keep secrets what he was about to say was something dangerous to the clan.

"But what?" Itachi looked around, gazing at Naruto softly behind his mask before returning his gaze to the flames.

"I think it was the Mangekyo Sharingan." Naruto blinked owlishly at his friend before his gaze drifted to Shisui's unconscious body.

"The what?" Itachi shrugged slowly, never tearing his gaze away from the fire, captivated by the randomly dancing wisps of orange.

"I don't know all the details, it's a legend even among the Uchiha clan but it's said to be a stage above even the fully evolved Sharingan, only unlocked by Madara Uchiha himself. Nobody alive today even knows what it does but beyond that, what he did... I have no idea." Naruto sighed as he looked at his friend's body again.

"I don't know how we're going to explain this to the Hokage, or Lord Danzo." Itachi's gaze steeled for a moment as he finally looked away from the fire and towards his red-headed friend.

"We tell them everything; that is our duty." Naruto glanced around in shock, only hidden thanks to his mask.

"But if word gets out that Shisui has that kind of power..." he wasn't allowed to finish as Itachi cut him off again.

"We are ANBU, tools of the village, and it is our duty to report everything to our superior and the Hokage." Naruto sighed as he looked up at the sky, noting how out here on the outskirts of the country the stars shined more clearly.

"Right." He spared one last worried look at his friend before getting up to grab his sleeping bag; he had a feeling it would be a long night.

* * *

It turned out that Naruto's fears seemed unfounded; by the time they returned to the village Shisui was awake and had confirmed he had no idea what happened. One moment he was stressing over what to do and couldn't decide and the next a word just seemed to appear in his mind. Apparently he seemed to leave his body and found himself looking through the eyes of the enemy captain. While he couldn't control the man directly he just thought about not wanting his friends to be hurt and the man just acted on his own.

When they gave their mission report to the Hokage he was saddened by the loss of one of the Shinobi of his village. However, he couldn't risk a war with Iwa, both countries weren't exactly strong at the moment, Iwa after losing the Third Shinobi war and Konoha due to the Kyuubi attack. He was willing to look past it considering Naruto and Itachi had taken out two of the assailants and while Hiruzen generally wasn't a fan of the 'eye for an eye' way of thinking, it was what was best for the village.

When they finally got onto the end of the fight and Shisui's abilities the aged Hokage seemed incredibly interested by the apparent new ability the young Uchiha possessed. However no matter how hard he tried he couldn't demonstrate it, he couldn't even activate his Mangekyo willingly; he just didn't know how. In the end the Hokage simply told him that if that ever changed he was to inform him immediately as such an ability should be analysed if possible. Even so, being part of the Sharingan, the Uchiha would find a way to make sure such a rare and powerful ability would not become common knowledge and avoid it being studied if possible.

Currently Naruto was wandering through the village in his civilian clothes, an orange sleeveless hoodie with a navy T-shirt underneath and beige cargo shorts. He was mulling over what Itachi told him back in that clearing, about the village being more important than their own feelings; at least that was what Naruto took from it. For some reason he particularly disliked the idea that ANBU, or even Shinobi for that matter, were simply tools for the village.

While he would gladly die for his home and its people, that wasn't because he was some disposable weapon. He would do such a thing to protect the people he cared about because he never wanted to see his friends like Itachi, Shisui or Anko get hurt. He continued to think about it as he walked rather aimlessly through he packed streets, never noticing as he turned off into a quieter district, almost walking straight into somebody in the process.

"Oh sorry about that." He looked up sheepishly only to blink for a moment as he saw a familiar shock of silver hair that he just couldn't quite place.

"Oh that's no problem Tora." Instantly Naruto was holding a Kunai out in front of him as he dropped into a fighting stance on reflex.

"How do you know my codename?" The tall man simply laughed jovially and waved a hand dismissively which allowed the redhead a chance to take him in properly. He wore a mask covering most of his face while his headband was pulled over one eye, only revealing one which looked at him rather lazily.

"Now now, Tora, I'm surprised you don't recognise me after all this time." Naruto blinked again, noting that the voice sounded incredibly familiar as he lowered the kunai.

"_Taichou_?" The man just raised a hand and made a quick peace sign with what Naruto could only describe as an eye-smile.

"Yo." Naruto completely put his kunai away, now confident that this man was in fact his captain. "You can call me Kakashi Hatake if you want." Naruto just blinked, very confused at the moment at his captain's actions.

"Taichou, it is incredibly irregular to reveal your identity, even to comrades." Kakashi merely eye-smiled again and gave another dismissive wave.

"Maybe. But it won't matter for very long. I'm retiring from ANBU." If Naruto was surprised he didn't show it; after nearly seven years in ANBU and four of those as a captain he would have been more surprised if he hadn't retired sometime soon.

"That's sad to hear, Taichou. It was a privilege working with you and I hope our next captain is as competent and skilled." Naruto couldn't completely tell due to the mask but he could feel that Kakashi was grinning at him almost too happily.

"I'm so very glad you said that, Naruto." Once again Naruto wasn't surprised; while knowing his codename would be unusual his identity out of the mask and uniform wasn't exactly a secret. "I was actually looking for you." Naruto raised a solitary eyebrow for a moment, regarding his, now former, captain with intrigue.

"Oh? Why?" Kakashi beamed again, although the only outward sign was his eye curling up again in that strange way.

"You know I am your... father's former student, right?" Although he didn't like to dwell on that, he nodded curtly.

"Yes." Kakashi nodded witha small melancholic smile.

"Did he mention anything about me?" Naruto thought back hard to the years before.

"It's hard to recall. I guess he did a few times." Again Kakahi merely gave a small nod of understanding.

"And what did he say? You can't remember?" Naruto gave a small shake of his head.

"I'm afraid I can't."

"Hmm." Kakashi had a far away look for a moment, "Well, you've done your parents proud." He had the courtesy to blush slightly at that.

"Thanks, taichou."

"Kakashi, please." Naruto gave him a somewhat reluctant nod.

"Alright, Kakashi-san." He gave a more pleased nod with another of his seemingly trademark eye-smiles.

"You've done them proud. You're an excellent shinobi. With lots of room to grow, but still, excellent. For your age, there are few that are your peer."

"Itachi and Shisui." Naruto supplied, not liking the breech in ANBU policy, but feeling like his captain had something very important to explain. "Maybe some others, I don't know about."

"Yes. Both of your friends are unusually skilled for their age. It's tempting to think you're all time-travelers from the future." Naruto's brows rose high at that.

"Um, what?" The man simply laughed dismissively.

"Oh, nothing. Just, well you're too young. Newest _Icha Icha_ came out. Anyway, my point is, you are skilled - and not just in combat. Tactics. Planning. Strategy. You are balanced; multi-faceted. You don't have many apparent weaknesses. All good traits. You also work well with just about anybody and you know how to think on your feet."

"Thank you again, Kakashi-san. But I don't follow."

"You will my replacement." His perfectly serene smile never broke as he said it and true to his ANBU training Naruto didn't even raise a brow.

"What? Why me?" It was a perfectly valid question, in Naruto's opinion there were a few people who might deserve the position over him, those with more experience and probably ability too.

"Because I decided it should be you. People look up to you and respect your decisions, you have no qualms ordering people but still take others' opinions into consideration _and_ you have the power to protect your comrades." That time Naruto did blink, it was like he read it off a script.

"You certainly thought it through." Kakashi just smiled again, already looking like he was ready to take off, "Though I'm not convinced."

"It wasn't a decision I could make lightly." Naruto nodded at that, it was a position that took a great deal of responsibility and authority, just below the Jounin commander.

"What about Itachi?" Kakashi nodded for a moment, apparently in thought; although from what Naruto had gathered on his personality so far he may have simply been bored.

"I considered him, as well as many others... others who have many more years experience than you," he turned back to Naruto, the wandering and lazy gaze gone, replaced by a look of a man used to carrying the weight of command. "...but you have to trust that I have made the correct decision; if you start second guessing yourself now then maybe I didn't." Naruto met his gaze evenly for a moment before nodding curtly once, "Let's just say, you're like a certain someone I know. I know that you will succeed."

"Alright." And as if he had thrown a switch the other, lazier and carefree Kakashi was back with his eye-smile and everything.

"Good, it'll be official in a few days, see ya, Naruto." He quickly vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving a contemplative Naruto in his wake.

"Well that was strange." He shrugged it off and carried on walking, he would find out what Anko thought about all this. It was her opinion that he actually cared about, his own just wasn't enough. Despite all Kakashi's praise, he wasn't entirely convinced. He needed to get her perspective, the only other person who might be able to settle his doubts.


	12. New wounds

Naruto jogged casually through the streets, the late night air cool on his exposed arms. Normally he didn't run through the village so openly in his ANBU armour but it was a nice night and there weren't many people about. Those that did see him simply paid him no mind, treating him as the silent and invisible protector that ANBU were supposed to be. In turn he ignored them, maintaining his official non-existence to the general public. It wasn't a full-proof charade; anybody that knew him even reasonably well would be able to recognise him from his hair, mask or no.

He looked up briefly, watching the bright full moon as he jumped across rooftops on his way towards the outskirts of the village. He wasn't sure why Shisui had asked him to meet him by an old training ground but the whole situation put him on edge slightly. His friend was never this secretive and the message was sent in the standard ANBU code; that alone was grounds to worry. That anxiety only increased as he dropped into the training ground to see Shisui standing by a fast moving river, his back facing the redhead.

"Shisui?" The black-haired Uchiha perked up a little as he heard his friend's voice ring out clearly in the still night. The dull roar of the waters in the river provided a constant background noise that mixed in with the other miscellaneous sounds of the forest.

"Hey Naruto." The Namikaze easily heard the slight strain in his friend's voice; it came out weak and lacked all the usual confidence. "It's a nice night tonight isn't it?" Naruto wasn't sure what to make of this, his friend was acting strange and he had no idea what was going on.

"Shisui what is it? What's going on?" His friend merely held up a hand, holding it there as he cocked his head to the side like a dog listening out for something. Only a few moments later there was another rustle as Itachi dropped into the clearing, like Naruto fully decked out in his ANBU gear. Naruto couldn't tell explicitly due to his mask but the other Uchiha seemed just as clueless as he was.

"Shisui, Naruto, what's this about?" Naruto merely shrugged while Shisui continue to stare thoughtfully into the river, not turning around to his two friends.

"It's such a nice night." His sigh was audible, even above the harsh sounds of the water rushing along in the river. Naruto was seriously worried by now; this whole thing was so out of character for Shisui it had his nerves on edge.

"Shisui, what's going on, why are you like this?" Their friend sighed again as he finally turned around, painfully slowly. To their credit as ANBU neither Itachi nor Naruto gasped or showed any outward reaction as they saw Shisui's face. Blood streamed down from his left eye leaving a slow moving river down his cheek, the moonlight only serving to show more contrast between his pale cheek and the dark stream of crimson.

"Shisui what happened?!" To Naruto's shock it was Itachi who spoke, his voice carrying far more emotion than he normally allowed people to hear, even in the company of his friends. For the third time that night Shisui sighed sadly, his expression sombre and melancholic.

"I don't have a lot of time, I was able to lead them on a false trail long enough to get you messages but I probably only have about five minutes." His weak voice was only met by uncomprehending silence from his friends, only broken by the occasional birdcall or that ever-present roar of the river. "I'm sorry guys..." he offered a lame smile that only turned to a pained wince as he gently held a hand to his bleeding eye "...I guess I just wasn't enough this time." Finally the silence and the tension got to Naruto and the catch in his throat holding him back from speaking disappeared.

"Shisui what are you talking about? What happened to your eye?" The attempt at a smile finally vanished from the Uchiha's face as he took on a more sobering expression, trying and failing to look at both his friends with his one good eye.

"I don't know who it was but they wore ANBU uniforms, except they didn't, it was like some kind of twisted version, their masks looked more like demons than animals. But I do know they were from Konoha, they used our sign language." He winced again as he clutched a hand to his eye, the pain obviously tremendous even though he kept it hidden commendably. "They were coming after my eyes, I got as much from their commands and the way they attacked me. They managed to pin me down in the compound and they got one of them but I used a flash bomb and managed to get away." That alone was a sobering thought for all three of them.

"Your Mangekyo..." Itachi's voice was quiet and contemplative but still loud enough that his friends heard him.

"Yeah, I figured as much as well." Again they lapsed into a brief silence, thinking about the consequences of what happened tonight.

"But that means..." Shisui cut Naruto off with a raised hand, motioning for him to stop.

"I know, the only people who know about it are the Hokage, the clan and our superiors in ANBU." Itachi's brow furrowed deeply behind his mask, his eyes scanning back and forth rapidly as he thought.

"No, they wouldn't do this; it makes no sense, why would they hurt one of our own?" Shisui sighed as his face contorted into a brief scowl, his pointed gaze directed solely at his cousin.

"Itachi, you know as well as I do that right now the Uchiha clan are under just as much suspicion as anybody else." At that Naruto looked up from thought quizzically, a questioning gaze turned at his two friends.

"What do you mean? Why would your family do something like this?" Shisui looked at Naruto with as kind an expression as he could manage before sadly looking away, his gaze drifting to the river.

"We don't have that much time, I'm sorry Naruto." His gaze came back up, a slightly pained expression clear across his features, but it wasn't from his injury. "My power is far too dangerous in the wrong hands and they already have one eye. At least that means it will be greatly weakened but it is still too dangerous for me to stay in Konoha." Naruto blinked in surprise at the implications of Shisui's words.

"You're leaving? Becoming a missing-nin?" Shisui shook his head sadly, the regret obvious in his eye.

"No, I would have nowhere to go, not to mention I would be no safer. Wherever I run, wherever I hide, as long as I have these accursed eyes then I am in danger and a danger to everybody." Naruto could only look on helplessly, the words refusing to form for a moment.

"Then what? We can protect you!" Shisui chuckled humourlessly, the action once again causing him to wince in obvious pain.

"Naruto, you can't protect me all the time, you are strong, but human. Even you have to sleep, eat and move on with your life." By now tears were beginning to form in the redhead's eyes as he stared at his friend.

"Then we go with you!" Shisui smiled, Naruto had never seen a more saddening sight than his best friend's heartbreaking smile.

"Where I'm going I hope you two will not have to follow for a long time." Before Naruto could ask what his friend meant he slowly unsheathed the tanto from his back with another heart-wrenching smile. "You two will always be my closest friends, remember that please." And without another word Shisui drove the blade into his heart, his face eternally locked into a small smile as his body dropped lifelessly into the river, easily carried away by the strong currents.

"SHISUI!" Both Naruto and Itachi cried out together, already sprinting forward to the river; however it was too late. Even if they could catch up to their friend's body the strong currents had already pulled his body under, lost to their eyes. They could only watch helplessly from the riverbank, staring into the dark waters that perfectly reflected the many shining stars in the night sky. Naruto dropped to his knees, the whole situation finally catching up to him as he began to take ragged breaths between gasps.

Itachi remained standing, his body rigid and frozen even as twin trails of blood slowly leaked from his eyes.

* * *

The sound of a fist knocking on wood rang out clearly and loudly through the homely two story house. Anko quickly vaulted the rest of the stairs she had been walking down to quickly run to the door, opening it with a small exasperated sigh as whoever it was kept knocking. She looked out in surprise at the two very gruff looking Uchiha men standing in their front porch; one in particular seemed incredibly irritated. She knew they were Uchiha from the crests on their collars, although the Sharingan spinning lazily in their eyes was also a dead giveaway.

"Um hello?" The older-looking man of the two with silver hair and a distinctively arrogant look plastered over his face simply gazed at her disinterestedly.

"Naruto Namikaze lives here correct?" Anko frowned at his tone; it seemed, for lack of a better word, accusatory and that didn't stand well with her.

"Who are you?" The man sneered for a moment, obviously irritated he had to deal with a situation like this before grunting in annoyance.

"We're with the Konoha military police force to question Naruto Namikaze over Shisui Uchiha's suicide." The news hit Anko like a ton of bricks making her gulp in surprise and shock, her eyes suddenly finding the floor as she blinked; her brow furrowed in pain and shock. She managed to just about look back up at the man who seemed nonplussed by the emotional display, not caring less about her reaction to the news he had so emotionlessly conveyed.

"Suicide?" The man merely grunted in the affirmative, his irritated mask not budging for a second.

"Is Naruto Namikaze here or not?" Anko was still stunned but she did at least manage to nod at the question.

"What do you need with Naruto?" She meant for the question to come out assertively, however her voice was quiet and subdued. She could only imagine how Naruto would take the news; Shisui had been his best friend, other than her. He had been strangely quiet and pensive recently as well, this wouldn't help things at all.

"None of your concern; our questions are for the Namikaze, not you." Even in her now emotionally fragile state Anko gave the man a seething gaze, only saved from a scolding as Naruto suddenly made his appearance.

"Hey Anko, who's at the door?" At his voice both Anko and the two Uchiha perked up, looking around as he jogged into the room, his hair still wet from a shower.

"Naruto Namikaze?" The Redhead eyed the two men critically but nodded all the same; he took note of their Uchiha crests and the shell-shocked look on Anko's face and instantly new why they were here. Cursing softly in his head he put on an air of total ignorance before joining Anko by her side. He knew this was coming, he hoped it wouldn't but he was no idealist. After much debate both he and Itachi agreed to keep what they knew about Shisui secret, respecting their friends last unspoken wish.

"What's going on Uchiha-san?" The silvery-haired man sneered at the polite greeting, looking down his nose at the young Namikaze and sniffing loudly.

"We need to ask you some questions." Becoming slightly more serious at the tone Naruto nodded warily before offering a hand for the two Uchiha to enter.

"Of course." They brushed past him quickly, both obviously wanting to get this over with soon. As they followed Naruto sent a small glance Anko's way, the girl couldn't even look him in the eyes.

* * *

After around a half hour of surprisingly intensive and all-too accusatory questions the Uchiha pair left, disgruntled and un-enlightened. Naruto had kept the majority of his answers vague but reasonable, sticking to the truth where possible. He found it surprising how easy it was to lie to the two, although their general attitudes helped. All throughout the dreadful conversation, although interrogation may have been a more accurate description, Naruto had managed to put on a suitably shocked and disbelieving air. In truth though that was no problem, he was still in real shock over his friend's sudden suicide and he had been bottling those emotions up since then.

"Wow." Naruto sat out his couch, staring up at the ceiling, the occasional blink the only sign he was even alive. Anko sat down next to him, naturally snuggling closer to his warm body even as she gazed at him worryingly. It pained her to see Naruto this way, so obviously devastated yet withdrawn and quiet. She couldn't even tell what he was thinking to even begin to try and help him. Instead she pulled his loose hand into her own, holding onto it tightly, as much for her own benefit as it was for his.

"How are you doing?" Naruto blinked a few times before taking a deep breath and turning to look at his oldest friend mechanically. Tears almost welled up in his eyes, lying to the Uchiha had been one thing but with Anko it was completely different. He wasn't been sure what he could tell her, or if it would be safe to tell her anything; he would have to talk with Itachi about it for later. For now he would simply have to maintain the act, although the edges of what was real and what was acting had already begun to blur.

"I'm not sure, it's just... everything." Anko nodded sadly, suddenly pulling herself forward to rest her head in the shoulder of Naruto closest to her.

"I know, I just can't believe it, I mean... It was Shisui!" Her voice held genuine disbelief behind the more noticeable sadness and shock. "He just always seemed so happy." Her voice became small with that and she unconsciously buried herself further into Naruto's shoulder. It made her wonder if there was something she had missed, some hidden sign that Shisui wasn't as aright as he looked, something she could have done to help. Worriedly she looked back up at Naruto's pensive face, knowing that no matter how bad she felt, Naruto could only be worse.

"What are we going to do now?" Naruto broke away from whatever speck on the ceiling he had been so intently staring at to look down at her sadly.

"I don't know." He sighed with genuine regret and sorrow as he shifted on the couch to bring Anko closer to him; right now he appreciated the comfort. "Just keep living I guess." It sounded optimistic but his voice carried deep undertones of depression. Anko looked up, swearing she saw something in Naruto break at that moment, being replaced by something much darker and colder; it nearly made her shudder.

"Yeah." Both their gazes drifted over to a small standing picture frame on a nearby cabinet. The three smiling faces of a much younger Naruto Itachi and Shisui as well as the more neutral face of their sensei above them shone back. Things had changed so much since those more innocent days; Naruto just wasn't sure how much more he could take.

* * *

It was a quiet night and Naruto appreciated that, he liked that all he could hear was the wind rushing past his masked face and the occasional chirp of cicadas. Ever since Shisui died a week ago his life had been one big blur of sympathisers and pity, he hated it. If anything the mission he had suddenly been pulled away on was a blessing, although he didn't enjoy being away from Anko when she was so fragile. The girl had never really had people she could care for or who cared for her before meeting Naruto and one of the most precious to her, her sensei, had betrayed her horribly. To see another of those people leave her so suddenly had taken its toll.

In the same way Itachi had become very withdrawn of late, never leaving the Uchiha compound except to train or for missions. In fact Naruto hadn't spoken with him since that night; it was one of the reasons he was now gently roof hopping through the still night air in the direction of the Uchiha compound. He had gotten back from his mission early and decided to go see his friend. They needed to talk and he had been putting it off for too long now, the Mission was only an excuse.

He ducked down into the streets, frowning when he saw the gate to the Uchiha compound at the end of the walk way, it definitely was not supposed to be open like that. Hurrying forward he openly gasped as he saw what lay within. Blood was randomly spattered on the walls, kunai and shuriken littering the streets. Even with all his experience in ANBU he was forced to support himself on a nearby wall, even the civilians hadn't been spared.

"Itachi!" Realising his friend might be in danger he took off in the direction of the clan-head's house; he would find out what happened here when he knew his friend was safe. Rushing through the blood-drenched streets he constantly had to fight off the urge to gag, the smell was sickening and the sights around him more so. He finally steeled himself as he vaulted the small wall around his friend's house, crashing through the door only to see something he never thought he would see.

"I-Itachi?" His friend stood there, turning at the familiar and unwelcome voice, the fresh blood of his father still dripping slowly down the gleaming blade of his Tanto.

"Naruto!" Itachi seemed genuinely shocked by his friend's arrival, his hand trembling where it gripped the blade.

"I-Itachi? What's going on?" The Uchiha never got to answer as a high-pitched gasp was heard behind them. All three members of the room span to see the trembling and wide-eyed form of one Sasuke Uchiha, his eyes locked on the unmoving form of his late father, before they drifted up to Itachi's emotionless face.

"N-Nii-san?" Again Itachi was cut off as a panicked and desperate voice cried out, piercing the silent house.

"No! Run Sasuke! Please just run!" It was Mikoto who cried out, she had been about to receive the killing blow from her son when Naruto crashed through the door. Sasuke's breaths came in small, startled gasps and his legs quaked uncontrollably, unable to move. Suddenly a switch flicked in his mind as he suddenly turned around, running out the door and back into the death-ridden streets. Naruto was still so shocked by all this he almost missed the black blur of Itachi's form racing past him in pursuit of his brother.

Pulled out of his indecisiveness he spared one glance at Mikoto to make sure she was okay before pelting after the two brothers. He caught up just as Sasuke dropped to the ground in the street, his pupils dilated and his body trembling in fear and pain. Bright red eyes with single tomoe circling the pupil could be seen before his eyes closed and he fell into fitful unconsciousness. Ignoring the boy for now Naruto focused on Itachi who calmly turned to look at him, their eyes meeting.

"Naruto." The redhead just didn't know what to say; what do you say in a situation like this?

"No." His voice was a hoarse whisper and his legs threatened to give out from under him. "Please no." Itachi gave no sign he had heard the softly spoke pleas. "I can't lose you too." At that Itachi finally gave some sign that he had heard, taking a small step forward toward his friend.

"Naruto-"

"WHY?!" He was cut off harshly as Naruto also took a step forward, tears of rage and betrayal falling unseen behind his mask. "After everything! After Shisui! What is this?!" Naruto had no idea what kind of strain this put of Itachi, even now his forced emotionless facade was cracking, shattering under his friend's betrayal-filled words.

"I did what I had to, this was the only way." His voice was small, quiet and unsure, like he didn't truly believe them himself. In his rage and anger though Naruto took no notice, only clenching his fists until his knuckles turned an unnatural white.

"You... You..." He trembled in confusion and rage, unable to convey what he wanted to, not even sure what he wanted to say in the first place.

"Naruto, I-" Itachi never got the chance to finish his sentence as Naruto's head suddenly snapped up, his gaze murderous. This was only accentuated by the blood red eyes peering at him from behind equally red hair. Naruto was always good at controlling his emotions, especially anger and rage but at that moment every defence he had was down, there was nothing between him and the burning force of energy sealed within him.

"YOU BASTARD!" Itachi grunted in incredible pain as he looked down, his Sharingan eyes peering down at the fist forcefully punching his stomach. Naruto had simply been in one place one moment and standing in front of him the next. He didn't even get a chance to dwell on this before another lightning-fast punch was careening for his exposed face. Not one to be taken by surprise twice Itachi leant back past the blow, letting it swing over his head before moving to the side as Naruto viciously brought it down.

It was obvious that Naruto wasn't in a sound state of mind at that moment and as Itachi dodged backwards to escape another volley of blows he could only stare at his friend sadly. He had planned on Naruto being out of the village tonight, he couldn't have known Naruto would finish his mission early. He didn't want to fight his friend, not like this, not when Naruto wasn't even thinking clearly. He began to weave an intricate Jutsu he hoped would give him enough time to get away but Naruto's eye merely twitched in response before his face split into a vicious grin.

"I won't be fooled by your silly mind-games you traitorous Uchiha!" Even though he knew the words were not Naruto's own Itachi couldn't help but feel the knife-like pain at his exclamation.

"Naruto, this is not you but the Fox!" His only response was a snarl as the redhead dropped down onto all fours, using the extra traction from his hands to launch himself forward with even greater speed. This time Itachi had no chance to avoid the vicious rain of blows falling down across his body; his body armour took the majority of the damage but he would still have painful bruises to show for it.

Itachi tried to Shunshin to get away but Naruto was easily able to catch up to him, batting the normally stoic Uchiha out of the sky with an almost clawed hand. There were no visible signs of the Fox's influence save for his eyes but Itachi knew that as his anger grew then he would begin to draw upon more of the tainted Chakra. Using what little manoeuvrability he had in the air Itachi swung round, catching Naruto's arm with a free hand before pulling their bodies closer together so their eyes were level.

"Tsukuyomi." Instantly the colours in the world seemed to invert, a red sky taking the place of the darkness and the moon turning a foreboding black. Instead of the air Naruto found himself on solid ground again, in a place he did not recognise. A field of black ground spread out in every direction seemingly infinitely as equally dark clouds passed overhead. He blinked, the world suddenly having more clarity now he was out of the influence of the malevolent chakra.

"Naruto." He span on the spot, looking his friend in the face with cautious but still angry eyes, noting that he also had this strange colour inversion.

"Itachi, what's going on, what is this place?" Itachi sighed solemnly before he began to walk around Naruto, his hands placed behind his back in what he hoped was a non-threatening gesture. Even if Naruto had wanted to attack he couldn't, it was like there was something holding his feet firmly on the ground.

"This is my Tsukuyomi, one of my Mangekyo techniques." Naruto blinked at that but said nothing, letting Itachi continue with his explanation. "It is the ultimate Genjutsu of the Sharingan, here I am master of this world, even time is dilated, hours in here are mere seconds in reality." Naruto narrowed his eyes, subtly trying to move his feet only to find his legs once again unresponsive.

"Why did you bring me here? To kill me like you did your clan?" He may not have been able to move his legs but his hands were perfectly free to ball up into tight fists. "And how dare you wear that ANBU uniform to do it." Itachi found himself fighting a losing battle with emotions, how desperately he wanted to explain, to justify his actions to his one and only true friend left in the world. To know the life that awaited him when he left the village, one of loneliness, he was frightened about extinguishing this last tenuous connection he had.

"Naruto, there is so much I wish I could explain, instead I merely ask you to look after Sasuke." He began to walk away from his redheaded friend, his form slowly becoming fainter and fainter as he walked. "And Naruto..." he paused momentarily, almost looking back to where his friend stood rooted to the ground, but he couldn't quite bring himself to do it "...Thank you, for everything." And like that he was gone; Naruto was left alone in this dark, bleak world of dismal colours.

* * *

Itachi looked down at the unconscious body of his last friend, unsure if he was even worthy of calling the redhead that after everything he had put him through. While he had done nothing to the Namikaze in the Tsukuyomi, almost fifty hours of information suddenly reaching the brain in a span of a few seconds was enough to knock anybody out. He sighed wearily, looking out over the place he had called his home his entire life, a single solitary tear leaking down his face before he steeled himself. If anybody had looked up that night they would have seen a large flock of crows racing through the sky out of the village.

* * *

Sasuke stared at the picture in his hands; it was an old one, taken when he was five. He was in the foreground, smiling happily as he was held in his mother's warm and strong embrace from behind. To her right his father stood more solemnly, his regal air that he always held even radiating from his static visage. To Sasuke's left Itachi stood, almost a mirror of his father in his calm and proper demeanour, however his features held none of the same arrogance. It was taken the day Itachi became an ANBU, a day Sasuke remembered well because his brother had offered to train him in Shuriken-jutsu for the very first time.

Sasuke only realised he was crying when a single tear dropped onto the picture before rolling lazily down the glass leaving a small streak in its wake. He sniffed them back before more could join it, carefully rubbing his eyes; they had been itching strangely ever since that night. Sasuke suddenly shook his head to rid himself of the horrible images that swarmed his thoughts after that. However nothing he did could erase those memories, seeing the people he knew and had walked past every day lying in pools of their own blood would be etched into his memory forever.

"Why Nii-san?" He was forcefully pulled out of his memories and plight as a gentle knock reverberated on his door before an equally gentle voice accompanied it.

"Sasuke-kun, you should get some sleep." The young Uchiha sighed, his mother sounded so tired, he knew she was just as hurt and confused as he was.

"Alright Kaa-san." His voice was a strained whisper but it seemed to satisfy his concerned mother as he heard her footsteps slowly retreat from his room. With a weary sigh he replaced the picture frame on a dresser before moving over to the window to close the blinds. However before he did a light caught his eye from somewhere in the compound; Sasuke knew there shouldn't be any lights on anywhere in the Uchiha district.

Worried that they might have intruders Sasuke opened up the window quietly before dropping out. He rushed through the streets as fast as his small legs would carry him, having to glance away at places he vividly remembered dead bodies of fellow Uchiha lying. The blood stains had been cleaned away quickly after the so called 'incident' but Sasuke could remember them all like they were burned into his memory.

Rounding the corner where he saw the light Sasuke was surprised to find it was the house of one of his brother's old friends, Shisui would sometimes come over to their house for dinner. Cautiously and nervously he crept further in, walking around the house to the back yard where the light was casting eerie shadows. Finally he entered the garden only to see a single person standing in the middle of the garden, staring at a makeshift ring that looked like it was design to hold spars in. Sasuke couldn't tell because of the mask the man wore but he could have sworn his whole body showed sadness and melancholy.

"W-Who are you? What are you doing here?" The man looked around quickly, his masked face settling on Sasuke's before he suddenly vanished in nothing more than a blur of red. Sasuke blinked in surprise, wondering if was all in his head; the man had vanished so suddenly it was like he was a ghost. With more questions than answers Sasuke began the trip back to his own house, a small yawn escaping his lips and his brow furrowed into a confused expression.


	13. New freedom

A solid smack rang out through the compact training ground deep inside the ANBU headquarters. The sound was of one snake-masked ANBU's face firmly meeting the solid concrete of the floor. His opponent gave him a few seconds to regain his feet but when the man just lay there motionless for a while he grumbled and stalked off. The particular ANBU he had been beating down on quite thoroughly was still fairly green, only getting his mask less than a month ago. That was why he didn't know it was a particularly bad idea to challenge Tora to a spar on this particular day.

Most knew today as the anniversary of the Uchiha clan massacre by Itachi Uchiha, leaving only two of his entire family alive. In the ANBU however it was known as one of the two days in the year when you did not approach Tora unless it was of vital importance. Hebi was now among the few that new this sullen and exclusive fact; at least he would when he woke up two days later in the ANBU infirmary.

Naruto breathed a deep sigh of relief as he walked out of the stifling air in the headquarters, lifting his mask up enough to pull in a lungful of the clean air. He disliked the building immensely, despite all the duties he had there due to his status as an ANBU captain. It had a much too utilitarian feel to it, all slate grey walls and simple desks for the various administration staff to work off of. Naruto had his own desk in the building but it had remained untouched from the first day he had been made a captain, much preferring his private study in his home for that kind of work.

Some of the tension he had been feeling today had been burnt off in his brief spar with the new ANBU who had been cocky enough to challenge the captain. However he still felt slightly worked up, it couldn't be helped on a day that brought up so many bad memories. Pushing that to the side he allowed a small grin to alight his face momentarily; hopefully he could change today into a good day full of memories he wanted to remember.

Behind him a young frog-masked ANBU rushed up to him only to watch as his captain suddenly vanished in a flash of red light. Blinking in surprise at the sudden departure he shook his head and stored away his question for later, turning back to tell his comrades what he had seen. There were a lot of rumours flying around about the captain, most of them revolving around the fact he never seemed to sleep. Patrols would leave for the night, passing him by as he trained only to return when the sun rose to find him still working through various exercises or practising jutsu.

The young red-headed captain reappeared a few hundred feet away from the headquarters, his eyes glancing around at his surroundings before dropping down to street level. He laughed as the young girl he had landed besides jumped up in surprise only to turn with a scolding look in her eye. Her irritation bled away as she looked at the blank tiger-themed ANBU mask staring at her dispassionately.

"Hey Hana, you ready?" The young Inuzuka nodded uncertainly for a moment before her more natural nature kicked in, reaffirming her nod with more confidence.

"Sure, everything's ready, but are you really sure I'm the right person for this?" Naruto chuckled, the sound getting slightly distorted through the mask as he placed a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder.

"We've already gone over this, if I didn't think you could do it I wouldn't have asked." Hana nodded with her eyes slightly narrowed but eventually relented as she allowed the taller redhead to lead her away.

* * *

_A fifteen year old Naruto walked up to the high walls of the Inuzuka compound, his face set into a look of determination. Today he was dressed in his father's old tracksuit; he wasn't sure why he had gone with the change all of a sudden but lately he just felt he needed the extra comfort they provided. Anko was out on a mission and that was perfect, he wanted to surprise her with this so nothing could be revealed yet. _

_It was strange to knock on a door for a change; usually as an ANBU he had unrestricted access to everywhere in the village and as a captain that included the clan compounds. However today he was a civilian and had to wait a moment before the large doors opened up for him, a gruff but kindly-looking Inuzuka woman staring at him oddly. After a short but informative conversation she gave him directions and he walked through the grounds of the dog-loving clan._

_He marvelled as he saw dogs as large as wolves bounding through the open space, happily following their partners. He had worked with a fair few Inuzukas and always appreciated their natural instincts for companionship and loyalty. Their incredible heightened senses made them second only to the Hyuuga for tracking missions. There was also the fact he respected them immensely for being in such good control of their more bestial nature; it was something he could empathise with._

_Arriving at the small, non-descript building towards the centre of the compound he quietly let himself in, giving a small nod to the receptionist as he walked on by. He knocked on another door, waiting a few moments before a soft voice called him in. He frowned a moment, hand on the door knob, the voice sounded awfully familiar yet he couldn't quite place it. The reason became evident as he walked in to catch a fleeting glimpse of long brown hair pulled up into a professional pony tail. Both teens stood there a moment, staring into the other's face with furrowed brows._

"_Naruto?" Realisation dawned on the redhead's face as memories of the girl in his academy class rushed back._

"_Hana? You're the Inuzuka head vet?" The girl gained a slightly smug look as she put down the book she had been skimming through._

"_That's right, so you're the guy that pulled up a sudden meeting out of the blue, what do you need Naruto?" The redhead shook his head for a moment before getting back on track, a more composed expression replacing the one of surprise._

"_Yeah, I actually came here for a rather unusual request." He pulled out a small scroll, unfurling it before handing it over. "Do you think you could manage this?" Hana quickly looked over the contents of the scroll, her eyebrows rising further into her hairline with each line she read._

"_I suppose something like this would be possible." A frown marred her otherwise flawless skin as she looked up from the scroll, breaking away from attempting to figure out some of the more complicated diagrams. "Why me though? Surely this is something more suited to a medical ninja?" Naruto shook his head quickly, he had expected the question._

"_No, the chakra control needs to be perfect, there can be no mistakes." He sighed lightly, gaze drifting up to stare blankly at the cream wall behind her head. "Honestly if Tsunade of the Sannin were in the village I would have gone to her but as it is you are probably the most qualified person in the village." The words sounded surprising even to him, especially as he remembered how she was in the academy; luckily she seemed to have calmed down quite a bit since then. _

"_You're used to working with many different species of animals, that means you're chakra is attuned to be ready for a sudden change dependant on circumstances. Medical ninja are too rigid in their practises, unable to properly adapt to the unexpected..." He had already begun making his way out the room as he spoke. "...and trust me, if you choose to do this you'll be facing a lot of that. I'll understand if you don't but I'll owe you a massive favour, bye Hana." _

_The young Inuzuka vet watched the redhead leave with a small sigh; she wasn't ashamed to admit that in the academy she had a small crush on the boy; most of the girls did anyway. Now with time only adding height and muscle as well as shaping his face into something that would have most women drooling she found herself reverting to that time. She looked down at the scroll in her hands again, her lips turning up into a smirk as she pondered what she could do with a 'favour' from Naruto._

* * *

"Come on Naruto, you know I hate things like this." Anko's rather loud pleas fell on deaf ears as Naruto continued to lead the purple-haired girl through the streets, blindfold securely around her eyes.

"Oh I don't think you'll hate this." The girl huffed in annoyance but inside she was actually rather anxious. It had been a long time since Naruto had seemed so... the only real word she could put to the feeling was excited, in that child wanting to keep a good surprise but bursting to tell kind of way.

"At least tell me where we're going." She heard a soft chuckling behind her, cursing this blindfold that had her so disoriented right now. At first she had tried to keep track of where they were going by the direction they took and the sounds that she could here however that didn't last long. She was much too impatient and she was pretty certain Naruto had led her in a few circles to stop her doing just that.

"No need, we're here." Anko let out a relieved breath; the general sounds of the streets had died down when they had entered a building and now she was practically dying to know what was going on.

"Finally!" She quickly tugged the blue cloth from around her eyes, knowing that she must have looked like a fool being led through the village with it. However as she looked around confusion was the only expression on her face. They were in a medium sized room comprised solely of slate grey walls, there were no windows and when Naruto closed the door behind him it seemed to melt away, seamlessly disappearing.

"Is this your idea of a surprise? Looks more like a prison cell to me." Naruto grinned, walking straight past the girl to stand at the centre of the room.

"It is a prison cell." Anko's eye twitched as Naruto ignored her completely, instead focusing his attention on a ring of markings at the centre of the room. Being around Naruto long enough she knew they were seals but she couldn't tell what they did in the slightest.

"Okay, let me rephrase that... Why the hell did you bring me to a prison cell?!" Naruto looked up, still grinning fondly; nothing could have dampened his mood today.

"Because today I'm getting rid of your curse mark." Time seemed to grind to a halt for Anko as Naruto's words sunk in, her throat suddenly going dry as sandpaper.

"M-My mark?" Naruto simply nodded happily, looking at the door like he was expecting somebody. Sure enough a few moments later Hana walked through the door, carrying some equipment Anko didn't recognise.

"Sorry I'm late, I had to go and get some stuff, wasn't sure exactly what I would need." Anko just blinked at the new arrival, her mind still trying to wrap around the fact that tomorrow she might be walking around, free of the damn mark's influence.

"It's alright; we only got here a few minutes ago." Anko blinked again, gulping to wet her throat slightly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Hana turned, not having noticed Anko in the corner as she walked in.

"Oh, um hey Anko; long time no see." She smiled weakly, suddenly understanding a lot more of those diagrams all of a sudden seeing Anko's hand rest on top of her mark. She was about to continue nervously when Naruto placed a reassuring hand on Anko's shoulder.

"It's alright, she's here to help; we needed a medic for part of the sealing." Anko just blinked, her head still spinning madly from all the information she was suddenly getting.

"Y-You're really going to remove the curse mark?" Naruto nodded quickly, returning to observing the myriad of seals in concentric circles around the centre of the room; at least he was until he was suddenly tackled to the floor by a flying purple glomp. After taking five minutes to prise Anko out of her bear-like hug and another three minutes to wait for Hana to stop laughing Anko was finally lying down in the centre of the seals.

"Uhh, what is it?" Naruto was looking down at her with a small blush across the bridge of his nose, nervously playing with the ink brush he had in one hand. He looked away shyly, mumbling out something that Anko couldn't quite hear but had Hana, with her superior senses, blushing up a storm. "What was that?" Naruto's blush only increased as he turned around, still flipping the brush between his fingers.

"I, uhh, need you to take your shirt off." His voice was barely a whisper but Anko heard him loud and clear, her eyes going wide as her mouth twitched open. However before Naruto could apologise she was sitting up straight, struggling to pull her long navy T-shirt over her head. Naruto just watched in surprise, until he remembered what she was doing and looked away in embarrassment. After a few minutes Anko coughed loudly, forcing Naruto to look back around.

"Umm, are you going to do something? It's freaking cold in here." Naruto was worried when he looked around but thankfully Anko had her arms crossed over her chest, protecting her modesty; of course that didn't stop Naruto taking a small glance anyway, he was still a teenager.

"Uhh, right." And like a switch had been thrown all the embarrassment and nerves were gone from the redhead, replaced by a much more professional and concentrated expression. He carefully pricked her thumb, letting a few drops of her blood drip into an ink container he had brought. Next he delicately and slowly began to trace out numerous kanji and seals across her upper body, centred around the mark on her shoulder, but never touching it. Occasionally Naruto would have to stop, either to carefully push chakra into the array he was constructing or to wait for Anko to stop giggling as the ticklish brush moved over her sensitive skin.

"Alright." Anko looked up in shock, careful not to move too much like she had been instructed; she may have been naturally energetic but even she wasn't going to sabotage her only chance at freedom.

"That's it?" Naruto had to refrain from chuckling as he shook his head slowly.

"No, that's just the sealing done, next we have to actually activate it." Anko just stared at him for a moment with unblinking eyes, straining to stay lying down at that moment.

"Well get on with it then!" Naruto grimaced as he looked away, making it seem like he was double checking the seals even though he had already checked them t least five times before even bringing Anko in.

"It's going to hurt." Anko's eyes narrowed, she found his concern for her touching but right now she couldn't care less what he thought.

"I don't care; just get this damn mark off of me!" Naruto sighed wearily before looking back round, their eyes meeting for a moment as light caramel looked into deep purple. He gave a curt nod and motioned for Hana to come closer, they shared a wordless conversation as Hana's palm began to glow green.

"Alright, here goes nothing." With a deep breath Naruto began to channel chakra into his hand until it erupted in blue flame like his own torch. Then, still holding that breath he carefully moved his hand over the seal, trying not to pay too much attention whenever Anko flinched at the heat radiating from his palm. With one last bated breath his glowing hand hovered over the mitsudomoe before he slammed it down roughly, twisting to the left.

"Uzumaki sealing style: Juinjutsu release!" Anko immediately screamed out in pain as the mark began to pulse a dangerous orange, however when it tried to expand outwards the sealing array Naruto had drawn began to collapse on it, spiralling in the direction Naruto twisted his hand, condensing first around the mark before slowly melding with it. Anko's pained breaths grew shallower the more the mark was subsumed by the newer seal. Even so, Naruto's concentration never wavered, as did Hana's; a constant flow of chakra both directive and healing entered her system, fighting the curse mark while wiping its existence out of her body.

Suddenly Anko's screams started anew, her body arching up in uncontrollable pain as the mark burned a deep and sickly orange, pulsing dangerously. Naruto's hand began to lightly shake as he felt it fighting him, pushing back on his seal like a snake backed into a corner. He grunted in concentration, forcing more of his chakra in to suppress it but it fought back just as ferociously, parts of the seal entering it also beginning to turn a dark orange.

"Dammit." Naruto's hand was shaking much more uncontrollably now, his connection to Anko strenuous at best. Quickly as he could, he channelled a small amount of chakra into his right hand, his index finger lighting up in the same blue flame. In practised motions he began to draw directly into the air, a small wavering line of blue light following in the wake of his finger. When he was done he seemingly grabbed the floating mass of kanji and intricate lines out f the air, slamming it down onto a nearby scroll where it imprinted onto the paper line a burn. Just as swiftly he repeated the process, drawing a thin line between the new scroll and the curse mark.

The effect was immediate; the seal stopped fighting back as all the sickly orange light began to seep out, travelling up the faint blue line in the air before amassing in the scroll. Once again Anko's screams died down into a muted whimper; her eyes however were wide open, staring straight up at the ceiling. Soon enough though her eyelids began to droop as a soft, soothing sensation overtook her entire body like a balm to her aching form.

A few minutes later, although it seemed significantly longer, all of the orange light hand been transferred to the scroll and Naruto was finally able to pull his hand away. He winced as he felt the chakra burns on his palm, knowing it was a small sacrifice in the long run; his hand would be working again by tomorrow as it always was. Hana took that as her queue to pull her own hand away, but not before quickly running a small diagnostic sweep across the unconscious girl's body. Naruto didn't get to ask her what she found as she gave him a small smile before passing out from chakra exhaustion.

* * *

Anko groggily blinked her eyes open, groaning in annoyance as light streaming through the partially opened curtains hit her in the eyes like a mallet. In response she flipped over, unfortunately there was something resting on the side of her bed that she managed to send crashing to the floor. A loud grunt of pain was swiftly ignored as Anko tried to stretch out the morning, basking in the strange, almost unsettling peace that she had this morning. Suddenly and without warning she shot up into a sitting position, her eyes opened wide as she realised she couldn't remember what happened last night.

That alone was strange, normally her ever present nightmares were incredibly vivid and she would remember them long into the morning before suppressing them with the rest of her pained experiences. Suddenly a flashback to unbearable pain crossed her mind, quickly replaced by two orbs of purple filled with caring and concern. She blinked as she realised they weren't in her head and there were really two eyes looking into her own.

"Ahh!" She flew backwards in shock, crashing her head painfully into the headboard before letting it droop forward with a pained moan.

"Anko are you okay?" She looked up blearily, looking at Naruto properly and realised he was probably the thing she displaced earlier.

"Urgghh, Naruto what's going on? What did I drink last night?" A warm expression overcame Naruto's features as he settled back down on the corner of her bed.

"You don't remember?" Anko shook her head with a small frown before suddenly image assaulted her mind, of seals and pain and a desperate voice crying out in agony that sounded familiar, and loathed. She gripped her head in concentration before suddenly looking up with widened eyes, her hand grasping the spot over her neck. She couldn't believe it, there was no constant dull ache, no throb of pain when she thought about _him_ and the slight whispering that was so quiet she almost couldn't hear it was gone.

Anticipating this Naruto quickly handed her a small hand mirror which she gladly accepted to look at her shoulder. With no small amount of awe in her eyes she lightly traced the slightly lightened skin where the mitsudomoe that had haunted her waking life since that day had been. All there was now was a patch of slightly lighter skin in the same vague shape, but even that would fade in time. For the first time in three years, she was completely free of him.

Naruto didn't know what hit him as Anko suddenly launched herself off the bed, wrapping her arms around his neck and tackling him to the ground. She was laughing, tears streaming from her eyes out of happiness as she refused to let Naruto go. In turn the Redhead accepted it, a warm smile on his face as he also wrapped his arms around the sniffling girl. Finally, after a warm and comforting moment for the both of them Anko sat up, wiping away the last of her tears with the back of her hand.

"Thank you Naruto." The Namikaze went to reply as he turned his head only to spot the compromising position they were both in. Anko was straddling his waist, supporting her body with hands either side of his head as she looked down on him, a lilting smile on her still slightly tired face. At that moment Anko seemed to realise her position as well, blinking once in surprise as she looked down, their eyes connecting.

It was like some strange attractive force that neither really tried to fight against as Anko's face slowly moved down as Naruto leaned up. Neither blinked, too lost in the other's eyes to want to tear their gaze away for even a moment. Naruto felt a heat rush through his chest, warming his body as he saw Anko nervously wet her lips, their faces only inches apart. He could feel her slightly minty breath tickle his neck and the bangs on either side of her face lightly brush his skin.

"Hey Naruto, did you want me to..." Both teens suddenly shot around so fast they swore they got whiplash. Hana was standing in the doorway holding a small glass of water, her eyes wide as she stared at the scene before a grin broke out over her face. "Oh, um, I didn't realise I was interrupting." She giggled lightly as she backed out the door, enjoying the bright red complexions the two Shinobi had gained. "As you were." Anko scowled in her direction before a light cough caught her attention.

"Umm..." Naruto was nervously looking to his left, a light smatter of red across the bridge of his nose as Anko realised she was still on top of him. In her own flash of purple she was standing up, gently rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, also unable to meet his gaze.

"Oh right, ahh, sorry." Naruto quickly turned, his hands out in front of him waving almost frantically.

"Ahh, no! I mean, it was me and, I uhh..." He let his hands fall limply to his sides as his head drooped pathetically, almost comically if the two weren't so incredibly nervous and confused right now. Suddenly he felt a hand lightly tug on his chin, pulling his face up so that their eyes met again. There was still nervousness in her caramel orbs but there was something else, anticipation.

"It was... I mean, if you're okay with it?" Despite her best efforts at making her voice strong it came out quiet and meek, this was all very new, for the both of them. Except in the same way it made so much sense; acting on that instinct Naruto did the only thing that came to mind; he leant forward swiftly and stole a kiss. It was hurried and uncoordinated; their lips only finding a comfortable rhythm after a few seconds but both of them were suddenly lost to a whole new sensation of joy as they took that brief time exploring the other's mouth.

They parted with panting breaths, smiles adorning both their faces and a thin trail of saliva running between their lips. They didn't waste much time breathing though before they launched back into each other's arms. Naruto moved with a bit too much force and ended up pushing Anko back a little causing her to stumble. They found purchase again as she fell back onto the bed, Naruto on top of her as they continued their impromptu make-out session.

Naruto pulled back again, gasping for air with a stupid grin on his face that Anko quickly got rid of as she flipped him over so she was on top again, capturing his lips with her own. She almost gave a small yelp of surprise when she felt a tentative, probing tongue lightly push against her top lip. After barely a moment of hesitation she allowed it entry and a whole new dynamic to kissing was found for both the teens. A veritable tongue war took place, each fighting for dominance as the moist muscles moved over and under one another, never staying in the same place for very long.

Like their other kisses it couldn't last forever and they had to part; although Anko took the opportunity to lean back up, pulling her shirt over her head in one smooth motion. That day Naruto found out that Anko did not wear a bra under her shirt, or anything else for that matter. After a few awkward seconds of Naruto staring up at her exposed upper body which made the girl want to cover up out of sudden embarrassment he seemed to catch on, shedding his own shirt as fast as he could. As quickly as it had stopped Anko fell back on top of him, enjoying the feeling of their now exposed skin rubbing against each other.

Naruto wasn't sure where his sudden spurt of confidence came from, then again he was never really one to sit still and do nothing; wither way he found his hand, that had previously been moving up and down Anko's exposed back, move around to her front, softly grasping her breast. A small moan of pleasure and encouragement was all the invitation he needed to start moving the hand in circular motions. Spurred on by Anko purring into his mouth he brought the other hand around as well.

Anko's hands weren't idle either; she had them running up and down Naruto's hardened abdomen, occasionally squeezing them shut as another jolt of pleasure would rush through her lithe form. Taking another burst of initiative Naruto broke away from their heated kiss, much to Anko's evident disappointment. However that expression was wiped away as Naruto began to tentatively kiss his way firt down her chin, then to her neck.

Doing his best to remember where she had been most ticklish when he had been drawing the seals he began to lightly kiss her collarbone in places. Without him suppressing her, her moans of delight were much more vocal, making Naruto glad he had privacy seals in every room in the house. Eventually though his adventurous kissing went further south, finally finding his mouth over Anko's exposed and hardened nipple.

When he first kissed it lightly he could have sworn Anko hissed in pleasure, her back arching back as if trying to further the contact. However when he lightly sucked on it she nearly lost control then and there, her inexperienced body proving too sensitive to the amazing ministrations of Naruto's tongue. By the time he pulled away she was breathing heavily, looking just about ready to drop onto Naruto's shoulder to rest.

"Anko, if you want we can just stop there." His only reply was the sound of a zipper being pulled down so quickly it nearly snapped off.

* * *

Two very sweaty and tired teens lay on an equally sweaty bed, the sheets rumpled and disorganised but at least covering the majority of their modesty. Anko sleepily lay her head on her new lover's chest, her hand gently running circles across his abdomen, a dreamy expression on her face even as she looked about ready to fall asleep. Naruto had his arm wrapped snugly around Anko's more petite form, a far-off look in his eye as he stared in no particular direction.

"That was incredible." He laughed slightly as Anko merely nodded her head, her hair tickling him as it brushed against his skin. However after a moment of thought she lazily raised her head, slipping over Naruto's form with the sheets still on top of her until she was straddling him again.

"_Was _incredible?" A sly grin passed over her features as she leant closer, her lips only a few inches from Naruto's. "Who said we were done?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm sorry I have to do this but I'm gonna have to put this story on Hiatus for a while, maybe two or so weeks, I'm a little behind on schoolwork and revision and that takes precedence. Don't worry though, I'm definately not dropping this, just stalling for a while, It'll be back. In the meantime though if you have any ideas for the direction you want me to take this story in, now would be the time to speak up. I always appreciate feedback and suggestions (no harems though, this is an Anko fic).**

**Peace off!**


	14. Same old life

Early in the morning in the Namikaze house an alarm was heard ringing through every room. It didn't last long before there was the sound of metal flying through the air and the inevitable crash, halting the screeching alarm from further annoying a certain purple-haired Kunoichi. Naruto cracked open an eye just as Anko resettled herself into the bed, placing her head on his chest as she normally did. With a small chuckle the redhead shifted out from under her, replacing his body with a pillow quickly, much to the woman's disappointment.

"Anko, what have I told you about destroying the alarm clocks? That's the fifth one this month." His response was a weary middle finger before the disgruntled woman flipped over, snuggling into the soft pillow once again.

"Stop setting them for five a.m and I might consider it." Naruto simply sighed, they had this conversation a lot; it was inevitable when they slept together.

"We've been over this before; I need to get up early to do my morning patrol." Once again his response was non-verbal as Anko heatedly threw her pillow at him, knocking him slightly off balance as he attempted to pull on some pants.

"Then get a quieter alarm!" Naruto smirked as he walked over to her side; she petulantly flipped over again but Naruto simply pulled her back over, quickly plating a loving kiss on her cheek.

"Please, anything less than that and I would never be able to get out of bed with you." Caught off guard by the smooth answer Anko could only stutter, giving Naruto an opportunity to plant another kiss, this time on her lips, and quickly jog into the bathroom. After a few minutes she regained her wits, blushing from the affectionate moment before flipping back over and attempting to return to sleep. As an ANBU captain early starts were expected from her boyfriend but that didn't mean she had to sacrifice her mornings.

Emerging from the shower with damp hair Naruto smiled as he saw his sleeping girlfriend cutely drooling onto her pillow. Even under the covers he could make out her curvy yet lithe form, at nineteen she had grown into an incredibly beautiful woman. Although he would never admit it himself, the same was true for Naruto; finally reaching what would probably be his permanent height he now stood at a decent six foot three inches with a trained and toned body and wild spiky hair falling about his face.

Quickly pulling on his ANBU gear he gave Anko another kiss on the cheek making her mumble his name in her sleep before darting out of the window onto an adjacent roof without a single whisper. He loved Konoha in the mornings, while dark it was peaceful and if he timed it right he could sometimes catch a glimpse of the sunrise before he made it to the Hokage's office. Unfortunately today he was a little too early but was content with hopping across the rooftops of the slowly waking village.

Darting through a window of the Hokage tower he patiently waited for the secretary to alert the village's leader of his presence. After a few moments he pushed open the door to see Sarutobi already wrestling with the paperwork that had accumulated since the other night. He gave the older man a few moments to finish what it was he was writing at which point he looked up with a kindly smile.

"Tora, it's good to see you bright and early as usual." His voice was calm and friendly but there was an underlying annoyance there; it was no small secret with anybody working close to the Hokage that he was not exactly a morning person.

"Hokage-sama." Naruto's reply was curt and polite with a small inclination of his head, the epitome of a professional attitude. "Do you have any specific orders today?" Sarutobi nodded, rustling about with the various papers and documents on his desk with no real purpose, a clear sign he was about to breach a sensitive topic.

"I think we need to discuss it again Tora." At that the experienced ANBU captain visibly tensed, as did the four ANBU operatives hidden in the various shadows of the room.

"Hokage-sama, with all due respect..." Hiruzen quickly levelled a gaze at Naruto that brokered no argument.

"No Tora, I have been very patient with you but you must understand that I only wish the best for all my Shinobi, yourself included. Nine years in the ANBU while certainly impressive, is highly unorthodox, not to mention unheard of." The masked redhead was growing more and more uncomfortable as the Hokage continued.

"But Hokage-sama..." Once again he was cut off by a single gaze that held all the age and power Hiruzen still had within him.

"Tora remove your mask." At that the entire room froze, the implications of the request known to everybody present." With a slightly shaking hand Naruto complied, showing his face to the Hokage for the first time in over three years. Sarutobi's gaze softened as he saw Naruto's uncovered face after so long. His soft purple eyes had gained some steel in them after so long within his profession but they were still full of compassion, so like his mothers had been. The whisker marks that were once such a prominent part of his appearance had faded and thinned to the point you could miss them at a fleeting glance, only strengthening the resemblance to his father.

"As of this moment I am hereby relieving you of your command in the ANBU black ops, you have the rest of the day to find a suitable replacement." Seeing Naruto raise a hand to interject Hiruzen quickly cut him off. "This is non-negotiable... Naruto." And just like that any basis for arguments Naruto may have had died on the end of his tongue; the Hokage had addressed him by his name, as such his identity was compromised. He was no longer an ANBU.

For a moment he stood there, masking his indecision with an emotionless mask of indifference. His hands nervously fumbled over his tiger mask, knowing that he would never be able to wear it again in an official manner. Finally he curtly nodded once, leaning forward and gently placing the porcelain mask on the desk.

"As you wish Hokage-sama." Hiruzen sighed at the blatant resignation in the young adult's voice; it truly hurt him to do this but such tenure in the ANBU black ops was almost asking for mental issues to develop.

"As of now you are a Jounin of the village, you will be expected to join the other prospective Jounin sensei at the end of this week to take a team, until then you are off missions." Any further objections or questions Naruto may have had were silenced as Hiruzen returned to his paperwork, essentially dismissing the former ANBU captain. Dazed and slightly disbelieving that this wasn't all just a dream Naruto exited the room, his feet naturally taking him in the direction of the ANBU offices. By the time he reached it his head had cleared enough that he could at least think straight. He knew there was nothing he could do at this point, the Hokage's word was law and as a faithful and loyal ANBU, or at least ex-ANBU he was expected to follow without question.

Even so he still couldn't help the lost feeling that overcame him; his life was just right at the moment. He had his career, he was good at it, he had subordinates that trusted him and would gladly fight alongside him. He had the love of his life and long time best friend by his side night and day. Right now though, he wasn't sure; he didn't know what to do with himself at this point; Hiruzen certainly had thrown a wrench in the works.

However the thing that shocked him most was the fact he was now going to have to take a team. He wasn't sure if he was ready for such a responsibility. Sure he had to watch out for his fellow operatives on missions as their captain but this was different. The people on his team wouldn't be trained and powerful Shinobi that understood him and were ready for most situations. They would be rookie Genin, barely out of the academy; he would actually have to teach them things, protect them. It was daunting.

He was knocked out of his thoughts as he nearly walked into somebody in his distracted state, only his honed reflexes allowing him to quickly skirt around. He looked around, realising he had walked into the headquarters without even realising and made a move to walk towards his offi- what used to be his office. On the way he grabbed a random operative that was walking in the opposite direction.

"Tenzo, I need you to go get Komachi, she'll probably be training with Towa, have her come to my office as soon as possible." The brown haired, Lion-masked ANBU nodded absently before double-taking, only now looking up at his captain.

"T-Taichou, you took your mask off!" Naruto smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in an embarrassed manner.

"Yeah, I can't explain right now but don't worry; Komachi will explain it to everybody later." Tenzo nodded quickly, walking off to the training halls to do as he had been asked. Sighing, Naruto walked to his old office, hoping he wouldn't come across anybody else to avoid awkward explanations. He reached his room and collapsed into his comfortable rotating chair, holding a hand to his temple. He had to admit the Hokage had at least been patient with him up until now; it had been two years since he first brought up Naruto leaving the ANBU service.

At the time Naruto had fended him off with statements about how he wanted to surpass his mother's mission record; he did that last year. Then he wanted to have the longest and most accomplished mission record of any ANBU member to date; he did that three months ago. After that it had been flimsy excuse after excuse, each growing weaker and less substantial than the last. In honesty it was simply because being in the ANBU gave Naruto's life stability; although it also gave him an excuse for minimising his interactions with the villagers.

All his friends were in the ANBU corp, he would still get to see them but not nearly as much; he didn't even know half of their names. He knew at least one person who definitely would not be happy with all this. He was pulled out for his introspective thoughts by a timid knock at the door; he knew it must be Komachi and couldn't blame her. Usually being called into a captain's office was for admonishment for a mistake so no doubt she was out in the hall, going over what she could have possibly done wrong.

"Come it Komachi." Slowly the door opened, admitting a tall young woman with sandy blonde hair tied up with six large needles. She was dressed in the traditional ANBU uniform with a stylised cat-like mask with a few crescents descending down the forehead. She seemed slightly nervous but other than that she held herself with the same bearing all ANBU were trained to adopt, professional and alert.

"You called for me Taichou?" There was hesitance in her question but definitely an underlying curiosity; it was a trait she'd had as long as Naruto had known her.

"Just ask Komachi, it's okay." He saw her visibly lose the tension in her shoulders at seeing she wasn't about to be reprimanded for something.

"Why aren't you wearing your mask Taichou?" Naruto sighed before leaning forward onto his desk, chuckling slightly as he realised he wouldn't have to do the paperwork already stacked up to one side; at least there was one good thing to come out of this.

"Because I am no longer a part of the ANBU black ops." To her credit Komachi didn't even flinch. "As of today the Hokage has seen fit to relieve me of my command." He leant forward even more, a slightly saddened smile on his features. "Which means that you are now the captain." He couldn't see it due to the mask but Naruto was sure Komachi had just blinked in abject surprise. He stood as she started spluttering, trying to deny what he had just said. He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as he began walking out of the room.

"Congratulation, if you need any help just come and see me alright; I remember how daunting it was when I first started out. Good luck with the paperwork." With that he briskly walked out of the office leaving a remarkable shell-shocked Komachi in his wake. With that out of the way he hopefully wouldn't have to deal with the inevitable questions from his subordinates for a while, or at least he hoped so. Now he just had to go home and tell Anko, he was sure that was going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

"YES! It's about damn time!" Naruto stared at Anko with his mouth agape, a large drop of sweat on the side of his forehead as he took in her excited little dance. He had just told her about being dropped from the corp. and she had a slightly... unexpected reaction.

"Hey, what do you mean by that!?" Anko stopped her excited jig for a moment, that huge smile still plastered across her features. Naruto had to admit he loved it when Anko smiled, genuinely; not that fake 'I will kill you' smile she used on people who got on her nerves; it made her look radiant.

"I've been waiting ages for you to get out of ANBU." She looked down quietly, her happy grin morphing into more of a sad smile. "I know you loved working in the black ops but..." She looked away, red colouring her cheeks with embarrassment; even after all this time she wasn't particularly good at expressing her feelings. "...I feel like you never have time for me, sometimes your missions take you away for weeks at a time and... I miss you." Naruto's face softened at that, his lips pulling up into a small smile as he wrapped his arms around his girlfriend in a comforting hug.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Anko shrugged meekly in his grip but snuggled further into his body anyway, enjoying the warmth his arms provided.

"Like I said, I could see you enjoyed it, it wasn't my place to take that away from you for something so selfish." Her out of character shy look was quickly replaced by a more usual expression of irritation as Naruto began chuckling, the vibrations from his chest travelling through her via their warm contact. "What's so funny? I'm trying to be all emotional here!" Naruto quietened down, wiping a non-existant tear from his eye.

"Anko, it isn't selfish for you to want us to spend more time together." He briefly pulled back from their embrace, a thoughtful look across his features. "Well okay I guess it is, but in a good way." Sighing Anko just lent back into his chest, once again shrugging non-commitally.

"Doesn't matter now anyway, at least now I get to see more of you." She pulled back this time, a mischievous gleam in her eye and a playful smirk on her face. "Mmmm, I think I like the sound of that actually." Naruto sighed but the smile on his face was unmistakable; Anko let out a small gasp as he swept her off her feet and into a bridal position before purring in delight as he carried her towards the bedroom.

"Good to see you have some initiative Naruto-kun."

* * *

A few days past as Naruto adjusted to being out of the ANBU; it was strange to say the least, especially getting used to not wearing his armour. He still wore the same black pants and vest over a simple mesh shirt but he stopped wearing the shin and arm guards, instead opting to wear black boot-like sandals and dark grey fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back with the Konoha leaf etched on. Over all that he wore the traditional olive flak jacket, its pockets filled with various materials for sealing such as blank scrolls and ink. Finally he had his personalised Tanto strapped to his back, going horizontal just above his waist.

Right now he was stood outside of a classroom with the other prospective Jounin Sensei, waiting for Iruka to finish up with a speech to the fresh Genin. He looked around, noting that he didn't recognise many of his fellow Jounin and by their curious looks towards him they didn't know him either. In fact the only one he did recognise was Asuma Sarutobi, and that was more by reputation than from actually meeting the man.

"Hey, is this your first time as a sensei too?" He turned to see a tall, raven-haired woman with startling red eyes wearing an unusual but accentuating dress. The redhead just rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, inwardly annoyed at being caught off guard; he put it up to nerves.

"Uhh yeah, In fact I've only been a Jounin for a few days." The woman nodded absently and Naruto noticed that despite her cool demeanour she also seemed nervous about all this.

"Yeah, I passed the Jounin exams a few months ago and my friend Hana told me it was better to get a team early." Naruto raised an eyebrow at that, a smirk appearing on his face.

"You know Hana Inuzuka? She's a good friend of mine." The woman nodded, eyeing the redhead curiously but allowing the smallest of smiles to appear on her face; any friend of Hana was alright in her book.

"I'm Kurenai Yuhi." Naruto smiled warmly, accepting the offered hand and shaking it firmly.

"Naruto Namikaze" Kurenai's jaw nearly dropped off her face but before she could react the Jounin were suddenly called into the room, Iruka having finished up with his speech. She couldn't believe she had been talking to Naruto Namikaze, youngest ANBU captain in Konoha's history with the most accomplished mission record out of any active Shinobi. She could only follow the rest of the Jounin into the room dumbly, before straightening up; she didn't want to make a bad first impression on her team.

"Alright and team seven, your sensei will be... um..." Iruka stared down at the clipboard, unknowingly reflecting the same shocked expression Kurenai had been wearing only a few seconds ago. "..N-Naruto Namikaze." A few murmurs travelled around the room, the last name was well known after all to the younger generation, the owner of the name... less so. Taking the initiative and deciding to treat this like any normal operation between Shinobi Naruto stepped forward with a placid smile, motioning for the three students who had stood up to follow him.

"Alright team seven; I will be your Jounin sensei for the foreseeable future so follow me up to the roof." With that he vanished in a flash of red that had not only the students in the room surprised but the Jounin as well. After a few stunned moments the three called students hurried out of the room, much to the envy of some of their peers. Naruto himself reappeared a moment after he vanished, a thoughtful look on his face as he stared down at the three folders in his hands. He had gone over them last night when he had been called over to the Hokage's office but he quickly removed the three attached photos, checking them over again.

"Hmm, Sasuke Uchiha, Itachi's little brother." The cold and unwelcoming gaze of the stoic Uchiha stared back at him blankly; reminding him so much of how Itachi was when they first met. "Sakura Haruno..." On the other hand her photo seemed much livelier with a kind smile, although to the redheads concern she didn't quite have the body he was expecting from a young Kunoichi in training. "...and Ami Uzuki, Yugao's little sister if I'm not mistaken." The final of the trio was another girl with long purple hair that was almost a mirror of her elder sibling. "Interesting matchup."

After a few minutes of lounging against the railing the three fresh Genin finally joined him on the roof; disappointing him slightly with how long they took to get there. They didn't even seem to have run; if he was still in the ANBU... no, he had to stop thoughts like that; this wasn't the ANBU corp. and he wasn't dealing with trained, disciplined Shinobi.

"Alright, as much as I'd like to say it's good to meet you all, that remains to be seen." At the confused looks of the three children in front of him he continued quickly. "You may think you are Genin right now, that is not true." Quickly silencing the outburst from the pink-haired girl before she could even begin Naruto levelled a calculating gaze on the trio. "You are not Genin until I say you are, the test you took in the academy was only to see if you had the skills to become Shinobi, I need to test to see if you can actually put those skills to use." Thankful that the kids were actually listening right now instead of arguing he gave a small smile that t least seemed to put Ami at ease.

"Don't worry too much about it, just use everything you've been taught at the academy and I'm sure you'll do fine." He conveniently left out the part where the tests only had a one in three chance of passing. "With that said, meet me at training ground eighteen in five minutes or you all fail." With a final grin that would have made Anko proud he once again vanished in a flash of red. A split second later he watched from a nearby roof as the three fresh Genin scrambled from their seats and rushed off in a particular direction.

* * *

Four minutes and fifty two seconds later and Naruto was leaning against a tree, watching with amusement as his new team stood panting in front of him. Sasuke didn't seem too bad but the two girls were visibly strained with sweat percolating on their foreheads. That alone worried Naruto; at their age he would have made it to the training ground not only faster but neither he, nor either of his teammates, would have broken a sweat; then again he was an ANBU captain at their age as well.

"Alright, well you guys made it, you passed step one." His was only met by two heated glares from the two girls and one look of irritation from the Uchiha making him chuckle at the weak killer intent. "Now then..." He placed his hands in a well-practiced sign before a puff of smoke appeared next to him, quickly replaced by an exact duplicate of the smiling redhead "...this is a Shadow clone, not your normal clone for one important reason." He placed a hand on the clone and pushed, knocking his other-self off balance much to the Genin's amazement; even Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"These are solid clones, able to interact and even use chakra to a certain extent; they have other uses but that isn't important right now. What is important..." He quickly slammed a fist into the clones gut making it wince in pain before dispersing in another cloud of smoke. "...is that it only takes one good blow to destroy it." He smiled at the group again, intentionally taking it slow so that three could regain their breath slightly.

"Your job is to destroy one before twelve O'clock which gives you one hour." To illustrate that point he pulled a random stop watch out of nowhere, quickly set the timer for an hour and dropped it on a nearby tree stump. "You can use anything in your arsenal to accomplish this but if you can't make that clone disappear in an hour you all go back to the academy; good luck." With that he formed another clone before disappearing in a flash of red, leaving three shocked Genin and a grinning clone behind.

There was a moment of pause as the Genin stared at the clone who only idly looked back at them before everybody sprung into action. In flashes of movement that were almost painfully slow for the ex ANBU captain the three Genin vanished into the surrounding bushes. _'Well their hiding is okay, I'm sure any Genin level opponent would have some difficulty finding them; although those two's chakra signatures are fairly weak anyway.' _Feigning complete indifference to the Genin's actions Naruto casually walked over to a nearby tree, plopping down at its base before pulling out a scroll.

The Genin looked on in confusion from their hiding spots, wondering what their sensei, or at least the clone of him, was doing. Internally Sasuke was seething; he hated that the man obviously didn't even think of him as a threat. Something else was bothering him as well; he couldn't place it but his new sensei seemed awfully familiar. Tearing the thought from his mind he stealthily began to make his way through the undergrowth, trying his best not to make a sound which was an incredibly good effort.

When he drew his kunai he held his breath in tension, only to see that Naruto still wasn't the slightest bit concerned. His ego swelled slightly that his hiding skills were good enough to fool a Jounin before dropping down from his position, kunai poised to strike. He thrust down with as much power and speed as he could, feeling the cold steel meet resistance as he drove on anyway. However he stood there, shocked to see that Naruto had defended against his surprise attack with nothing more than the end of his brush, the wooden handle apparently holding off the edge of his blade effortlessly.

Taken off guard he couldn't defend as his legs were suddenly swept out from under him in a flash of movement. Catching himself at the last moment he pivoted on his hand and lashed out with his other foot, only for it too to be redirected with the end of the brush. Pushing back he landed back on his feet, taking in the obviously amused expression of his sensei who remained standing.

"Hmm, I hope you aren't taking it easy on me just because I'm a clone." Sasuke saw the redheads eyes drift about lazily, as if unconcerned by the Genin's presence before his eyebrow raised. "Just you? Interesting." Sasuke quickly disregarded the strange comment before rushing back forward, intent on landing that one blow he need to pass and become a real Genin. Naruto only sighed as he watched the moderately fast Uchiha approach him, brushing aside the kunai aimed for his throat with as little effort as he would need to swat a fly.

"Don't underestimate me!" Just like that Sasuke's attacks doubled in intensity, his feet and hands becoming blurs to his two female teammates as they watched, both amazed and enamoured. Naruto merely chuckled, taking his eye off of Sasuke to glance around casually, the ease with which he defended not decreasing in the slightest.

"Oh don't worry, I'm not; but this is good, if you don't come at me with the intent to kill you'll never land that blow, now if only-" He smirked as he suddenly ducked low, allowing a surprised Ami to fly over his head, right into the path of the lone Uchiha, catching both completely by surprise. They landed back on the ground in a tangle of limbs and by the time they both stood up and were ready to attack again their sensei was gone.

"Watch where you're going dobe." Ami looked back at Sasuke with wide eyes; she had only tried to help him by launching that sneak attack.

"But Sasuke-" She was ignored as Sasuke turned from her, looking into the tree line of the training ground, trying to see where their sensei had gone.

"Hn." With that he took off into the trees, intent on getting that blow so that he could finally start learning some techniques. His teacher was obviously very powerful, that much was obvious, he needed that power and nothing was going to stop him getting it. However when he finally entered a clearing he only saw Sakura lying unconscious in the middle of the ground. He didn't particularly care what happened to her but she had obviously come into contact with Naruto. He jumped down and quickly shook her shoulders, trying to wake her up. She opened her eyes groggily before a mischievous glint alighted in her eyes.

"Oops, you fell for my trap Sasuke." The raven-haired Uchiha followed the Pinkette's gaze down to the ground where his foot was inside a small loop of ninja wire. The moment his eyes widened in surprise though the trap activated and he was violently wrenched into the air, dangling upside down by one foot. He looked around, noticing as 'Sakura' burst into smoke to reveal a henged Naruto.

"What did the original tell you? I can use chakra remember?" With that he mock-saluted and dashed off into the trees, leaving a disgruntled Uchiha hanging from a tree. A few moments later he found what he was looking for, Ami carefully making her way through the trees, her eyes scanning the path ahead as she held a kunai out on front of her. _'Well she at least seems prepared but she hasn't spotted -" _

He jumped backwards in surprise as a small barrage of shuriken suddenly sailed past the spot he had been in. However as he landed back on another branch it instantly collapsed under his weight, forcing him to tuck into a roll to prevent being dispelled. A few moments later and he was aptly dodging a few clumsy swings of a kunai as Ami tried desperately to attack him. However her combat skills were sorely lacking in comparison to the Uchiha. Finally, else it took up to much of the time he had, Naruto quickly side-stepped a weak lunge before grabbing the kunai out of her hand, spinning her around and pinning her to a nearby tree by her sleeve.

"Nice try, almost got me there." With a cheeky wink Naruto vanished again, leaving Ami to struggle against the weapon keeping her pinned to the trunk of the tree.

'_Okay, just one left, according to her file she was Kunoichi of the year, she should put up a good fight.' _Finding her a few minutes later running through the forest floor he smirked as a plan came to mind. _'Best grades in the year huh? Let's see how she handles Genjutsu then.' _It wasn't his strongest subject by any stretch of the imagination but it was at least passable. You didn't grow up with two Sharingan-users and not pick up at least a few tricks.

Sakura quickly made her way through the trees, making her way in the direction she had last seen Sasuke heading in. She had already realised there was no chance of her ever landing that blow that would win them this test so she was going to go and offer any help she could to Sasuke. She nearly shrieked though as she placed her foot down, only for it to suddenly melt into the ground. Her eyes widening in surprise she tugged on the offending limb only for the ground to pull even harder. Soon her other leg began to descend and the bubblegum-haired girl began to panic.

A few moments later and Naruto was standing over her unconscious body, her mind having shut down from the shock of being 'suffocated' underground. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a frown marring his features as he looked down at the girl.

"Well that was unexpected; I thought for sure I toned down the Genjutsu." Even as the words escaped his lips a bell rang out through the forest, signalling the end of the test.

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**A/N: I'm back! Yay, it feels good to be writing again, I just hope I haven't gotten rusty at all. I still have exams but right now I'm on exam leave so I have some extra time on hand. But you don't care about that soooo... yeah. Updates probably won't be as regular as they were when I started this but I'm not talking weeks apart so don't worry, maybe every two or three days.**

**On a side note I would like to send a very large thank you to my beta for the last thirteen chapters, Prosthetic Forehead, he's been a huge help and I'm sad he can no longer beta for me.**

**On a side-side note I require a new beta-reader so if you are interested PM me :)**


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